Archer
by Fencer22
Summary: The Entities wanted to destroy all versions of Earth. Gaia and Alaya objected to that. Hijacking a shard they sent Counter Guardian Emiya through to fight. Now bound to Taylor the pair must adapt and grow in order to face the coming threat. In other words Taylor inherits Archer's powers. Extreme divergences from canon.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This post has been edited as of the start of 2019 in an attempt to make the story more compliant with Fate canon. If this story falls short of Fate canon in some respects... well this is the best I can do. I'm mixing two large and complicated universes, one of which is continuing to develop even now, both of which are rife with pervasive fanon. And even listening to the people who know fate inside and out I sometimes run into conflicting opinions and that's before incorporating Worm's own brand of bullshit. I'm gong to miss details, and be vague, and bend or break a few things as I work to bring you the best story I can. I will try to stay canon compliant, but I'm not going to promise perfection here. Especially not when some of this boils down to conflicting opinions. I hope you can look past any missteps and enjoy the story. But if you can't I understand. Just don't tear into me too harshly for it either. I am trying to do right by all of you to the point where this is actually the second set of rewrites this story has seen. I want to do this well, I just can't go chasing after the impossible dream of making everyone happy with it.**

 **As a general point of clarification for Fate fans, the Entities are being powered by magical energy stored as crystal flesh rather than Wildbows nebulous 'energy' stored as crystal flesh. Their abilities and powers are very much grounded in science, like magecraft, and not the conceptual bullshit that pops up with certain Noble Phantasms and other abilities.  
**

 **I don't own Worm. I don't own Fate Stay Night, or any part of the Nasuverse. I hope you all enjoy! Please leave a review if you enjoy the story!  
**

* * *

With a gasp I pinwheeled my arms and tried to get my tired cramped legs under me properly. The locker was gone, the filth was gone, the whole fucking school was gone!

Looking around the scenery kept changing. One moment I was in a pure white room. The next I was in a massive library. Another moment passed and I was suspended in the black of space, stars winked back at me in the millions.

"That's quite enough of that, I think." A calm male voice spoke from behind me. As he finished speaking the surroundings changed one final time. Now I found myself in a perfectly normal if fancy sitting room. The centerpiece of the room was a small circular table set for tea with a chair on either side. Sitting in one chair already was a very tall man with white hair. He wore black body armor that showed off the kind of abs you could grate cheese on. He also wore some sort of red sleeves that covered his shoulders and were held together only by a large tied off string.

"Ah, Taylor. Please, take a seat." I could only stare wide eyed.

"I've gone crazy." I finally mumbled as I almost fell into the open chair. "The stress was too much and I finally snapped and went insane.

The man only shook his head and poured me a cup of tea. Without really looking I absentmindedly took a sip. The flavor was unlike anything I had tried before.

"It's oolong with jasmine." The man stated calmly. "As an American I realize you are likely more familiar with black tea, but I thought you might appreciate trying something new."

"It's delicious." It really was. Something about the flavor almost radiated peace and calm.

"I'm glad you like it. Now, to business. I am Counter Guardian Emiya. But please, call me Archer."

I licked my suddenly dry lips. I didn't really want to know where this was going I was still half convinced I was losing my mind. Still, I'd rather be here and insane, than sane and still trapped in my locker. Probably.

"Ok, Archer. I'm Taylor Hebert."

"Nice to properly meet you, Taylor." He said with a bit of a smile. "There is a great deal of information I need to explain to you. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time just yet so it's going to have to be the cliff notes version, for now. To be honest a lot of the details won't matter to you anyway."

I settled for simply sipping more of my tea.

"The broad strokes of it are that magic is real. If far more complicated than popular culture would have you believe."

Am I still crazy if my delusions sound crazy to me?

"Part of that means that both the planet earth and the general will of humanity are both… lets say aware, and capable of intervening. My job as a Counter Guardian is to intervene and destroy whatever might be threatening to end humanity. Usually that means certain groups of humans. But not this time. Let me show you something."

With a wave of his arm the room dissolved back into the expanse of space. Though the table, chairs and tea remained. Archer turned a bit and pointed. Following his finger, I saw them. Two massive shapes. Crystalline worms, spiraling around each other as they moved through the black.

"May I introduce to you, our enemy. They are beings unlike anything found on earth. On any earth. Their bodies are an insane fusion of crystallized magical energy and organic matter. They are also the source of what you call powers."

"What?!" I whipped my head away from the, things, to look at Archer. He never took his eyes off of them though.

"Indeed. They detach pieces of themselves, and the pieces settle on alternate versions of earth. Then they establish connections to humans through a pair of growths in the brain. Each shard is capable of a different kind of magical ability. By providing power for, and allowing humans to use those powers they gather more data about the ability allowing the shards to refine themselves." He calmly explained.

"They convert the planet, every instance of the solar system, into enough raw magic to replace what the shards used, to rebirth themselves, and fuel their travel to the next unfortunate planet. Then they move on and begin the process anew."

I was shaking. I was terrified. What he was saying was insane. Utterly and completely insane! But with every word there was a bone deep chill and a certainty that he was telling me the truth. I didn't understand it. Couldn't explain it. But I knew everything he was saying was real.

"Normally the afflicted worlds would be written off in order to preserve humanity. But these things have somehow blocked that response. They have turned a number of dimensions into a beachhead from which they can run their experiments, and when that is finished, they will consume their beachhead to gather enough power to either move on, or make a push against the other iterations of earth. We are not assuming they would be so benevolent as to leave after feasting on their testing grounds." Archer said with a scowl.

"These things have done everything they can to limit us. They settled on earth's without mages, and they have done their best to keep the spirit of earth, and humanity, out. Working together though, those two forces managed to hijack one of the shards. The shard that connected to you. They overwrote the thing and made it a vessel for me instead, to help humanity strike back."

Archer took a moment to sip his own cup of tea as I digested everything he had said.

"It's not hopeless. So much of their power was used up creating this staging area of theirs, and even more is being used to maintain it. They will be limited, powerful beyond measure, but limited in comparison to their full capabilities. More than that we've gotten extremely lucky. One of them is already dead. That alone makes what could have been impossible only extremely difficult. Honestly, I couldn't even guess what our odds are, but we at least have a chance."

Finally, Archer turned to face me.

"My abilities, my power, my experience, and knowledge. All of that plus a source of magical power so large you likely couldn't deplete it in twenty lifetimes. All being brought to bear through you, making you more, eventually making you a Demi Servant if one needed to be technical. And we are going to pit all that against the remaining entity."

The teacup in my hand shook violently as I placed it down on the table.

"Why me? What the hell makes me the best choice to try and stop that, thing!"

"Honestly? It could have been anyone. But that shard was chosen in part because it was a good match for my abilities, and in part because it looked for hosts who would, when motivated, fight even seemingly impossible battles. People who were creative enough to find unexpected solutions. People with drive to see their course of action through to the end. That's you, and like it or not that's what humanity needs right now."

"This is crazy." I whispered. "You're crazy, or hell maybe I'm crazy!" My voice got louder as I spoke. "The source of powers? Alien super worms who want to destroy everything? You want me to save the world!" I was shouting now. "I can't even deal with a few bullies! How the hell am I supposed to save the world?!"

Archer didn't say anything at first. He just stared at me with a serious look. Finally, he sighed and placed his tea cup back on the table.

"I'm truly sorry. I know this is a lot to take in. I know it isn't fair to you. But you are who we have to work with. You are the best and only shot we've got. When I volunteered for this there were already a handful of plans in the works for getting you some backup. And even more plans for if we fail." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before refocusing on me again. "But those will take time to prepare. Some of them require our help to get started. A number of them are also the kind of plan that calls for sacrifices to be made. Even my being here is coming at a price."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm connected to you, and to the shard. The entire point of my presence here is to grant you my abilities… but those abilities are unique to me. Eventually, I'll be completely subsumed. Then you'll be all that's left. Albeit a you who has been heavily influenced by me. I will fade away until I die, and you will be changed. That's what a Demi Servant is, a fusion of human and heroic spirit, though this will be a unique merging in many ways."

"That's insane." I whispered. Then I started to shout. "I don't want to be changed! I don't want someone to die just so I can get some power! I just want, I want…" what did I want? For the trio to leave me the hell alone. For my life to not suck. For Dad to get his shit together and remember me. For Mom to never have died. For this insane mess to not be my problem.

"Such is the way things are. The world has need of you, humanity has need of you, and they don't bother to ask. All that is left is for you to adapt. There aren't any other options." He glanced to the side.

"Our time is up. You're starting to wake up. If you are still trapped I'll take over long enough to get you out."

"What are you-" and then I was back in the locker, still trapped. The brief break from the smell had let my nose recover slightly and now I was being hit with the stench all over again. I dry heaved for a moment before I felt my body leave my control.

"I was afraid this would happen." It took me a moment to realize that the voice I was hearing was my own. "Pay attention, Taylor. This is the basis for my entire style of combat. You'll need to learn how to do this, and the sooner the better."

I felt energy, power, flow through me. In my mind I could see a dusty series of hills illuminated by a setting sun. Everywhere embedded in the ground were blades. They numbered in the countless thousands. The scenery seamed to whip by until I saw a pair of crossed blades, short but wide, one black and the other white.

"Trace on." The power surged and suddenly my hands were holding the two blades. In the blink of an eye my body still completely beyond my control moved and the locker door was cut off, falling to the ground with a clatter. My body stepped out of the filth. The swords faded away in particles of light… and I was back in control.

Funny, for hours I had only wanted out. Now I had my wish, and I had no idea what to do next. My body could be stolen from me at a moment's notice. I had powers I didn't even begin to understand. I had an older man riding shotgun in my fucking head who wanted me to save the world! For fucks sake I just, I just.

It was too much. My vision started to swim turning black around the edges. I couldn't seem to get enough air into my lungs no matter how much air I tried to take in. Then the floor was rising up to meet me as I fell forward.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Still do not own either half of this crossover. Read and Review.**

* * *

I dreamed of wandering a desolate wasteland. The sky was a cloudy, rusty, crimson, that seemed to be illuminated from everywhere and nowhere. Giant gears made of dull iron hung suspended in the air, constantly grinding away without any driving force. The landscape was dead. Low hills rolling on forever, but without a single blade of grass to soften their appearance, or bind the dirt which made them. Clouds of dust choked the world, clinging to the ground like a heavy mist blown ever onward by dry winds carrying the smell of ash. And everywhere I looked, sticking out of the ground like gravestones, were swords.

{}{}{}{}

Gasping, panting, I shot up into a sitting position… in a hospital bed? _'Was it all a dream?'_

 _"Welcome back, Taylor."_ The familiar voice echoed in my head.

I shrieked... A little. "Archer?"

 _"Still here, Taylor."_

"I thought it was dream. A nightmare."

 _"I'm afraid not."_

"So that thing is really out there. And it really is going to destroy everything?"

 _"Yes."_ I closed my eyes and brought my knees up so that I could bury my face in them. For a few moments I focused on just breathing. It was all I could do for the moment. That and tremble. I couldn't even control it; my body would simply not stop trembling.

"I'm not ready." I murmured into my knees. "I'm not in shape. I don't know how to fight. I don't even know what to expect from that thing or how to get to it in the first place. More than that… Archer, do you know just how dangerous this world really is? If I make a mistake before I'm ready, before we fight that thing, I could die and never even get a shot at it." I wasn't giving up. In spite of how it might sound I wasn't giving up. I just needed to know if Archer really understood what we were up against.

Archer's sigh echoed in my mind. _"Perhaps not fully. I have some idea based on your knowledge, but it's incomplete. For all that you are native to this world you have never seen any capes in combat. Let alone these Endbringers. I will not lie, this will be difficult, and I do not know if we can expect any further help, though I am sure others will continue to try. Now that they know how to do so they may be able to more easily send other spirits the same way… though most would not be so willing to see their existence come to an end."_

I latched onto the last bit, putting the rest aside. "Why were you willing to come here if it meant dying?"

For long moments Archer remained silent. _"To be a Counter Guardian is to subject oneself to an eternity of killing. Always those deaths serve humanity. We kill those that would put all of humanity at risk… But it is a horrible, and empty existence. The chance to be a part of saving the earth, of saving all earths. Of being able to leave something other than corpses in my wake. The chance for this horrible existence to finally end."_ His voice was thick with emotion. Vicious glee and anticipation warred with something that seemed almost religious, and hope. Hope carried more clearly in his voice than anything else. _"Taylor, this chance, this last mission, this is everything I want."_

As Archer spoke my trembling slowed and finally stopped. Archer was here to die. I could feel it down to my bones. He was here to help, and fight, and save. But just as much as all those things he was here to die. Even if we succeeded, he would die. He was counting on it.

"I see. I guess I'll have to be sure to never accept a job offer as a Counter Guardian." I said trying for just a little bit of levity. Archer seemed to appreciate the attempt going by his chuckles.

 _"Yes, I would highly recommend never accepting such an offer."_ He answered wryly.

"So, what do we do now?"

 _"Now? We do everything we can to prepare you."_

Before I could respond the door to my hospital room opened. Rather than a nurse or Dad like I would have expected, Miss Militia, of all people, walked in.

 _"A hero? Damn it. We do not need this kind of attention. Not so soon at least."_

"Miss Hebert? How are you feeling?" She asked kindly. The corners of her eyes crinkling slightly gave the impression of a smile under her scarf.

"I, well, not great. But I'm clean which is a relief." I answered honestly. _"What is she even doing here?"_

 _"I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough."_

I blinked. Archer had answered my question? But I hadn't even asked it? _"You can hear my thoughts?"_

"I'm glad you're comfortable at least." She said moving to stand at the foot of my bed.

 _"Yes, but only when you put them in words. With practice you'll be able to limit it to what you want me to hear."_

I absently nodded to both of their statements but otherwise remained silent. I would have to practice keeping my thoughts private. _"This is going to be awkward enough without Archer hearing every little thing that goes through my head."_

 _"True, but I'm sure you will get it eventually."_ Archer's response sounded vaguely amused.

 _"Damn it."_

"Miss Hebert, Taylor, I hate to ask about this, but you cut yourself out of your locker. We can tell from how the edges looked. You had no tools or blades with which to do so, and from that position you would have had terrible leverage. How did you escape?"

 _"Don't tell her anything."_

 _"I think it's a bit late for that, Archer. She already knows I somehow cut myself out when I physically couldn't have."_

 _"...True. However, that doesn't mean you should give away tactical information about your capabilities just because someone asks."_

 _"You're a bit paranoid, you do know that, right?"_

 _"Fate of all earths in our hands. A bit of healthy paranoia is not a bad thing."_

"Miss Hebert?" I glanced up at Miss Militia's tone before glancing away again.

 _"I need to tell her something!"_

 _"... couldn't you just, not?"_

 _"No!"_

 _"It's not like you have any kind of legal requirement to answer."_

 _"Alright, legally I don't need to answer. But practically speaking they already know something is going on… And I can't think of anything that might convince her otherwise. Can you?"_

Miss Militia seemed content to let me keep my silence for now, but that couldn't last forever.

 _"No… no I can't. Alright, I don't like it, but you are right. Just, keep the information to a minimum."_

 _"That should be easy enough. After all, I don't even know what I can do yet."_ Archer's answering chuckle sounded strained, but I still took it as a good sign.

"I cut myself out." I finally answered. I couldn't quite bring myself to look her in the eye while I answered though.

"I see, how did you cut yourself out?"

"With a pair of swords I made. They didn't last very long though. I, don't think I'm very good with my powers just yet."

 _"Not bad. All mostly true and it tells her nothing important."_

"That's, interesting. Is there any chance you could show me?"

"Well, I, um."

 _"Taylor, we've been linked for less than a day. And you've only seen me use my magecraft once. You're not ready. Tracing my blades now is impossible for you."_

 _"If I don't show her she's just going to be even more suspicious!"_

Archer's groan reverberated through my mind. _"I never expected this mission to be so damn troublesome. At least not so early on. I'm going to need to take control again for this."_

 _"Why do I feel like this is going to be a recurring theme for us?"_

 _"Just put your all into learning and soon enough it won't be."_

His piece said I felt my consciousness slip into the back of my own mind as my body moved on its own. Shoulders squared, back straightened, my expression shifted to something calm, and determined. I knew as I saw the shock and tension run through Miss Militia that we had made a major mistake.

"Trace on." My voice, but not my tone of voice. Swords, black and white and gleaming brilliantly, formed in my hands. Then I was back in control. I couldn't even begin to fight the reflexive flinch backwards as a curled in on myself slightly.

That was all she needed to see. Miss Militia was out of her chair and had retreated back to the doorway. Her power, which had previously been in the shape of a small knife at her side, danced through the air as restless green energy, snapping from one form to the next rapid fire. Her eyes danced back and forth between the blades and I.

"Miss Hebert?" she said flatly.

"I, yes?"

"What was that?"

"I don't…"

"Miss Hebert, please don't make any hostile movements. I'm going to require you to go through Master Stranger testing. Please cooperate and we'll do everything we can to help you, I promise."

I could hear Archer cursing a blue streak though I didn't really pay it much attention. With a groan I slumped back into my hospital bed and dropped the blades to the floor where they faded away into particles of light. As if my day hadn't been long enough already.

{}{}{}{}

Three hours of seemingly random questions later I was finally left alone in a padded room with a trough for a toilet/shower, and a futon for a bed. I got it, really I did. But seriously? 'Have you recently smelled something that could best be described as fudge when there is no fudge?' Where the hell did something that random and off the wall come from? They hadn't even bothered to just ask me if I knew what was going on and why I suddenly changed body language like that.

Archer had at least done me the favor of not distracting me with a lot of comments during their testing. Which I appreciated, but it didn't change the fact that I could actually feel his mounting frustration and anger across whatever connection we shared. I was already frustrated enough on my own. I didn't need his on top of mine. More than that though I was just tired. It was just so fucking typical that nothing could go right for me. Even getting powers only managed to make my life worse in the end.

"Anyone out there listening to me by any chance?" I asked my ceiling as I laid out on the futon. I could feel a faint thread of interest from Archer. I ignored that too. After a minute with no answer I shrugged to myself and kept talking. "Fine, don't answer me. Even if no one is listening right now I'd bet I'm being recorded. Just thought I should point out that none of you did the obvious thing and just asked me if I knew what was going on. Idiots."

Archer's laughter managed to drag a tired smile out of me as I closed my eyes. They were going to pull my secrets out of me sooner or later at this rate. But I was just so tired of the world beating on me. If I was going to get dragged along then damn it all I was going to get a few kicks of my own in!

{}{}{}{}

The sound of an annoyingly loud buzzer dragged me from sleep. Groggily, I rubbed at my eyes and glared at the door as it swung open. Standing in the doorway was an apologetic looking Miss Militia, a grumpy looking Armsmaster, and a Ward in power armor, Gallant. With a groan I flopped back onto the futon and rubbed the palms of my hands over my eyes. Blinking I sat back upright and stared at the heroes for a moment.

 _"Archer, why can I see without my glasses."_

 _"Hmm? Oh, my presence, and being absorbed is helping optimize your body. You'll still need to work hard to reach, and then maintain, human peak, but it will come easier for you than a normal person. Once we get into self reinforcement, you will be able to surpass human capabilities. Though as the process nears completion you may find yourself exceeding human limits without magecraft and there may be more obvious physical changes as well. You might, for example, develop my tan or eye color. This has never been done in such a way before so it's hard to know for certain what we can expect."_

 _"Right, one question answered. A dozen more in its place."_

"Miss Hebert, if you'll please come with us. We have prepared an interview room." Armsmaster spoke in a nearly dead tone of voice gesturing with the hand not carrying his halberd.

 _"Hmm interesting weapon he has there. Gahh, I can understand parts of it. The outside makes sense, but the interior is a mess. Mixing magecraft and technology like that, it's giving me a headache."_

Ignoring Archer, I stood with a groan and fell in just behind Miss Militia and ahead of Armsmaster and Gallant. With any luck something might actually get worked out today. We walked through the halls in silence for a few minutes before Miss Militia gestured through a doorway. Inside was a cheap looking table and some generic chairs. Off to one side there was a basket of muffins and a pitcher of ice water. Grabbing a cup of water and a few muffins I dropped into the chair opposite the door.

Miss Militia claimed the seat across from me and the two other heroes in power armor stood by the door. I suppose they would be too heavy for the chairs in that armor. Miss Militia waited patiently for me to finish my muffins. I took my time chewing and tried to put my thoughts in order. I wasn't really sure what was going on at this point, I definitely didn't think I rated three heroes for, well, whatever this was. Swallowing the last bite of muffin, I decided I might as well start asking questions.

"Err, no one took my statement yesterday, about what happened to me. Can I give that now? Or do I need to go to the police station for that?" I asked shifting to look at each hero in turn.

"Given your new status as a Parahuman, and the irregularities we've observed, your case has actually been passed to the Protectorate. Would you like to get that out of the way first?" Miss Militia asked, not unkindly.

"...Sure, I guess." I wasn't sure what else there was to talk about, but I wanted to get this over with as soon as I could. More than that I didn't want to give those bitches or the school any more time to cover things up. They'd already been given too much of a head start.

I explained. I prefaced by saying that the bullying had been going on since the start of high school. I listed off the general kind of things that happened. Insults in the halls, tripping and shoving, vicious emails that forced me to create new accounts, homework and personal property destroyed. I didn't bother giving them a case by case, just an overview, I explained that the administration wouldn't do anything claiming there was no proof. Then I took a deep breath and told them about yesterday, about the locker.

"Sophia had to be the one to actually push me in there." I said winding down my testimony. I felt drained, God I hoped they would at least listen. "Sophia Hess, Emma Barnes, and Madison Clements are the usual ringleaders. But Sophia is the only one who ever gets physical, so it must have been her that pushed me in there." I just barely noticed Gallant stop moving. It shouldn't have meant anything, but the boy had been constantly shifting since I started to describe the locker. And he froze stock still when I mentioned the girl's names.

 _"The hell? Does he know one of them from somewhere or something?"_

 _"Hmm, possibly."_

 _"Probably Emma. Her Dad's a divorce lawyer and he brings her along to a lot of high society events. I think I remember hearing that Wards get dragged to those sometimes."_

 _"Mmm, makes sense."_

"Was there anything else you needed from me? My Dad's probably worried about me, and I'd really like to get home."

Armsmaster and Miss Militia shared a look before Armsmaster began to speak. "Miss Hebert, you are aware that you went through Master Stranger quarantine yesterday?"

"Yes." I answered slowly, as if speaking to a particularly slow child.

 _"How could I have missed waking up in a strange room to a trio of superheroes?"_ Archer's amused snort forced me to fight a grin. But the way Gallant suddenly leaned forward as if looking at me closely quickly killed my amusement. I gave the Ward a questioning look.

"Miss Hebert, when you used your power yesterday, it was like looking at a completely different person." Miss Militia spoke carefully, as if choosing each word was of some great importance. "Nothing truly worrying came up when we interviewed you yesterday. However, Gallant here is an empath. He watched part of your Master Stranger interview. He claims you have two sets of emotions."

"It's really odd." Gallant said thoughtfully. "Just now the second set of emotions was amused for a moment. Then you're, primary emotions, followed. Can you tell me why that happened? Why you have two sets of emotions to begin with?"

"... I'd really rather not." I focused on a spot in the middle of the table. I wasn't willing to look any of them in the eye.

"Why?" Armsmaster asked. He wasn't like the other two he was… almost confrontational.

"Because it sounds crazy."

"Taylor, if someone is using some sort of power on you, we need any information you can offer to be able to help you." Miss Militia said gently.

Groaning I rubbed at my eyes. _"I'm not getting out of here until I answer their questions, am I?"_

 _"Most likely. They've already decided what must be happening, and refusing to tell them anything will only further cement their belief."_

 _"Damn it."_

 _"Mmm. I was really hoping to keep a lower profile."_

"It's not some Master effect, that's Archer." I rubbed at my eyes tiredly. "He sort of, came with my power, I guess."

"Elaborate." Armsmaster demanded. Miss Militia shot the man a mild glare to which I added my own.

"My powers, were, are, his. He came with them as a kind of package deal. Thing is… I can't work my powers, yet. He has to teach me first and I haven't had them long enough to even start learning."

"Powers don't work that way." Armsmaster scowled at me. I just shrugged.

"Mine do."

"But I saw you project two blades yesterday." Miss Militia cut in before Armsmaster could start talking again. "And you cut yourself out of your locker."

"I didn't though. That was Archer. He had to be in control to do that. It's why my body language changed. I still have no idea how he does that."

 _"I'll teach you."_

 _"Good. I need to be able to protect myself. I'm never going to let something like that happen to me again… and we've got a world to save, don't we?"_ I didn't want to think about that. It was just such a huge problem. I had no idea where to even begin dealing with it. But denial wasn't going to help. I'd just have to take it one day at a time.

 _"Yes, yes we do."_ Archer's voice was warm with approval. It made me sit up a bit straighter in my chair.

"This, Archer, can take control of your body?" Armsmaster demanded.

"Yes." I'd already admitted as much, no point in denying it now.

"And you can speak with him."

"Just have to think at him, or something. Still working on keeping my thoughts private the rest of the time."

"Miss Hebert, you have admitted to having a voice in your head, and that said voice is capable of taking control of your body." Armsmaster said flatly. "Until such a time as this effect is no longer an issue or your, claims, that this is only an aspect of your power can be confirmed we have no choice but to act under the assumption that you are suffering from some form of Master effect. Body thieves are incredibly rare, but there have been a few cases of such."

With every word I could feel a pit opening up in my stomach.

"Furthermore, your testimony is now suspect and any capable lawyer could have it thrown out of court. While we can use it as a starting point for our investigation, we will need to corroborate everything through other sources."

 _"No. No, no no no no! Damn it all! They have to listen to me! If they don't believe me then they'll just get away with this!"_

 _"Breath, Taylor, just breath. We will get through this. Worst comes to worst we will just have to break you out."_

 _"But then I'll be a villain!"_

 _"It will be our last resort then. There is still time to figure things out."_

"Finally, as a Parahuman suffering from an unknown Master effect, you are by PRT regulations to be considered a possible threat to both the public and yourself. To that end we are required, by law, to hold you for a period of one week for observation. Should the effect fade in that time you will be cleared to leave. Should the effect persist after a week then we will be required to transfer you to a long term Master Stranger recovery ward for professional evaluation and treatment. Do you understand?"

"You can't just arrest me! I haven't even done anything! I can't even use my powers yet!"

"Miss Hebert, Taylor." Miss Militia spoke up after shooting a look in Armsmaster's direction. "You aren't being arrested. I know this must be upsetting, I know it isn't fair to you. But it's the only method we have to help you, and keep others safe. What if this Archer took control and used your body to hurt someone? You claim he can use your powers, that makes him dangerous."

I slumped into my seat and just stared at the table. It was true that I had only met Archer yesterday. I didn't really know him but he didn't seem like a bad person, and he was here to help save the world, not go around hurting random people. But they wouldn't believe that. They had no reason to believe me. I could tell them I wasn't insane or Mastered until I was blue in the face, but they had already made up their minds. They wouldn't listen to me now.

 _"I've half a mind to just beat them all and walk us out of here."_

 _"Archer, that is without a doubt the stupidest, most short sighted plan I have ever heard. It's three against one and we are who knows where in a place we don't know the layout of and it's probably rigged with containment foam sprayers everywhere. And even if we did get out, they would hunt me down because they think I'm a public threat! So, either shut up, or offer me a useful suggestion!"_

 _"All right, all right. Not like I was being serious."_

"Fine, whatever. You all think I'm crazy, or Mastered, or whatever, got it." I could feel my eyes starting to sting but I would not start crying here and now. I would get through this even if I had to train until I could break out and survive on the run. I could deal with the trio making my life hell, I could deal with this. "But if you're going to be investigating, I kept an incident journal. I only started it this year, but I recorded every incident and kept copies of emails and… whatever. It's not much, but it's something at least. It's in my closet on the top shelf. My Dad should be able to get it for you since I'm stuck here."

"We'll make sure it's retrieved. That should at least help to corroborate your testimony." Miss Militia said kindly.

"Great, anything else you needed? Because if there isn't, I'd really like to start learning to use my power." And I really wanted to get out of this room. They weren't going to help me, and it hurt to look at them and know that.

"We can bring you back to the Master Stranger cells now, but be warned any attempts to break out will result in the room being filled with containment foam." Armsmaster declared rather pointedly.

"Yeah, figured as much." I answered sullenly.

Armsmaster waved for me to stand as he opened the door to the room and led me back to my previous room. Miss Militia followed behind me this time.

Once back inside the containment cell I plopped down on the futon. _"Alright, Archer. Looks like we have nothing but time on our hands. And I could really use a distraction right now. So, teach me magic."_

Archer's warm chuckles echoed through my mind. _"Alright then, Taylor. Let's get started."_


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: hmmm let me check... Nope still don't own Fate or Worm. Read and Review. This post has also had a few edits made that are listed in the update outlining revisions.  
**

 **ALERT! this post contains incorrect information about Dissociative Identity Disorder. I paraphrased the explanation about DID from a website that was apparently not a reliable source. I am looking into editing the chapter without necessitating a full rewrite of the entire fic. If I can limit the edits to just this chapter I'll move forward with them. In the meantime please simply be aware that the information is incorrect and if you are interested in learning more about the subject I suggest fact checking from multiple sources.**

* * *

 **{}{}{}{} Three weeks post trigger; Massachusetts long term Master recovery ward.**

" _Red!"_

Quick as a flash a dart with red tail fins shot across the room and sunk into my dartboard.

" _Blue! Green! Yellow! Red! Polka Dots!"_

The first four color matched darts I managed with ease, but I fully admit to flubbing the last one. I was so thrown off by the weird directive that I lost concentration and the dart wound up lopsided enough to go badly off course.

"Damn it, Archer. They asked me to try not putting holes in their wall, remember? That's the whole reason they even let me have the dartboard." I let the traced darts fade.

" _Just keeping you on your toes, Taylor."_

"No you're not." I dismissed his excuse. "You're just looking for some amusement. Admit it, you're as bored as I am."

" _Well, maybe. It's just such a waste."_ He griped. _"You're never going to use darts as a real weapon. It's been a useful practice tool. Being able to quickly trace simple things and even make small quick adjustments too them is a good start, but we've barely scratched the surface. It's good progress and you are learning quickly but if we don't get more freedom for you to practice…"_

"I know, I _know_. I need to keep learning. Sword fighting, archery, general fitness. And I'm not even close to being able to trace a noble phantasm yet."

" _You are getting there. But no, you aren't ready yet."_

With a growl I traced a throwing star and chucked it at the dartboard. It produced a much more satisfying thump than the darts did. Even so, it did very little to actually calm me down. Turning away I stared out of my barred window. Not that there was much to see, just grass and the tree line.

Two weeks I'd been stuck here. It was an all right place, but I was a prisoner here. I had barely seen Dad. Not that I could blame him for that, after all we weren't even in the same state. He did manage to come down on the weekends for a few hours, and he called every other day, but he never knew what to say to me. He was torn between wanting to support me, and being terrified about the fact his daughter was being mastered. It made conversation, _difficult_.

More than that though they kept poking and prodding and asking me questions. Quite often the same questions again and again as if they expected my answers to change. Hell, maybe they did expect my answers to change.

I kept telling them what Archer and I had agreed to tell them. We left magic out of it, and the stuff about the source of powers wanting to devour earth across as many dimensions as possible. But otherwise I explained as best I could what was going on. I also neglected to discuss just what Noble Phantasms were really capable of. All I would say was that Archer had some weapons with unique abilities and I didn't know too much about them yet.

To be fair, I really didn't know much about them. Archer had told me about some of his favorites, but that was a mere handful. He had _thousands_.

Two more throwing stars joined the first. These were at least potentially useful, unlike the darts. They were also easier to aim.

" _I wonder if it's too soon for you to try tracing a weapon with velocity. Probably best to wait until we can at least get safety glass for you to stand behind. My first few attempts with that technique were a bit… unpredictable."_

"What do you mean, 'tracing a weapon with velocity?'"

" _Velocity; a vector with both magnitude and direction."_ He lectured. _"In other words you apply direction and speed to something as you trace it. I called it trace bullet because I essentially fired traced weapons like bullets."_

"You can do that?! That's amazing! How do I do that?"

" _Easy, Taylor. My first attempt almost buried a sword into my foot. Let's wait until you have actual room for testing things safely."_

"Stingy." I grumbled half heartedly. Archer didn't respond, but I could feel a bit of amusement coming from him.

"Miss Hebert?" Someone called as they knocked on my door.

"It's locked, but feel free to come in if you have a key." I snarked. All the doors here locked from the outside. Not that something as simple as a locked door could stop me, but breaking out would just have the Protectorate hounding me. That, and I strongly suspected the entire building was rigged with containment foam.

A thought dissolved the throwing stars as I dropped onto my bed. I briefly toyed with the idea of tracing a blunted butterfly knife just to mess with whoever it was but dismissed the idea. No matter how amusing it might be it wasn't worth giving these people another reason to hold me here. Wonder who it would be this time anyway?

I started drumming my hands against the bed as I heard a key turn in the lock. _"And the mystery guest star of the day iiiis~"_ Archer chuckled lightly at my antics. We had both learned rather quickly to make our own entertainment or be bored to tears. _"Doctor Conner, rocking the latest fall psych ward wear. White thicker than hospital scrubs and a pair of black shoes that don't match at all. And just look at the shine he's getting off his head! What do you think, Archer, does he wax or polish?"_

Archers amused snort made my grin grow a bit. The man wasn't much for making jokes, and he tended to get really serious from time to time. So, the fact he appreciated my atrophied sense of humor was always gratifying. It was really nice, always having a friend to talk to.

"Good afternoon, miss Hebert. You seem to be in a good mood today." The doc said favoring me with a gentle smile.

"Ahh well, I'm getting pretty good with the basics of my power. Archer was just telling me about a cool trick that he says he'll teach me when I've got more room to practice in."

The doc nodded along. I had to admit he was a good actor. They all think I'm fucked in the head, but looking at them when they talk with me you would never know it.

"I may actually have some good news on that front then."

"Wait, what?"

" _What?"_ Archer echoed me.

"Myself and the rest of the staff assigned to your case have reached a consensus that you are _not_ suffering from any Master or Stranger effects."

"Yes!" I shouted. Jumping off the bed I stuck my fists in the air and whooped.

" _Oh thank goodness. Another week of this and I'd have begged you to let me cut us out of here."_

" _Two more weeks and I might have let you!"_

Then I noticed the Doctor wincing, slightly. And just like that I knew we weren't free and clear quite yet. Groaning, I sank back onto the bed.

"What's the catch?" I asked. Doctor Conner at least had the grace to look sheepish.

"The fact you aren't suffering from a traditional Master or Stranger effect is a good thing." He insisted. "However, you have tripped a few red flags farther up the line. A few professionals believe this may be a case of power augmented Dissociative Identity Disorder." He offered me a sympathetic smile. "You have probably heard it called multiple personality disorder. Also, someone compared Archer speaking in your mind with the Butcher and, well…" He trailed off, but I didn't need him to explain past that.

"Fuck."

" _The Butcher?"_

" _Anyone who kills the Butcher ends up with the voices of all the previous Butchers shouting in their head, as well as weakened versions of the predecessor's powers. They all end up going functionally insane, if there is such a thing, and are the leader of the Teeth. Which is one of the most violent gangs on the East Coast."_

" _Damn it."_

" _Exactly."_

"So, what happens now?" I asked.

"Now we transfer you to a facility for Parahumans in New York for further observation. They have Parahuman specialists on staff there and will be better able to analyze your situation. Once they clear you, you'll be able to leave." He gave me a kind, sad, smile.

I stared him dead in the eye for a few moments before I spoke. "By facility, I assume you mean asylum. And when you say _once_ , you really mean _if_ they clear me." I wasn't really asking. I already knew.

"Doctor, I want you to think about this from my perspective for a minute. I got attacked and the stress was so bad I triggered. Something you yourself explained as ' _often the lowest point of a person's life._ ' I cooperated with the proper authorities, didn't lash out with my new abilities, all the stuff a good member of society is supposed to do… And my reward has been to get locked up for three weeks going on indefinitely." I managed to keep my voice level, but I was glaring holes in the man. There was also more than a hint of suppressed violence in my tone.

"I am running out of patience. Archer is running out of patience. And despite how nice you all have been I do not want to spend the rest of my life being shuffled from one loony bin to the next." Now my voice was starting to rise. "When is there going to be any real progress? Or is this just going to be more of what I went through with Winslow, and the Protectorate? It's been three weeks and I haven't heard a word about the investigation they said they were going to conduct. And now you're saying that playing ball hasn't improved anything. If they think I'm a new Butcher things may even be worse now! At what point do I get to say _enough_ and start demanding you people actually _do your damn jobs!"_

" _Well said."_

" _Thank you."_ I huffed back.

Doctor Conner shifted nervously and glanced towards what I suspected was a containment foam sprinkler. "Miss Herbert, I know this is stressful and unfair to you, but you're just going to have to have faith. I know this must be painfully slow for you, and I know it doesn't seem like it, but this _is_ progress."

" _How,_ is this progress?"

"With you cleared of Master/Stranger influence that is one less thing the court could use to try and have your testimony dismissed. Though I'm not clear on what the state of the investigation may be." He shrugged apologetically. "As I said though, the facility we are transferring you to has actual Parahuman specialists. They will be able to help you were as we could only confirm you weren't being affected by a Master. I know it doesn't seem like much, but it _is_ progress."

"What do you mean one less thing?" I demanded.

"Er, given the Protectorates new concerns the defense may be able to get your testimony thrown out under the pretense that you not mentally sound." I glared harder. "Though that won't be an issue once you are cleared!"

Growling under my breath I turned away from the Doctor and towards my dart board. A dozen throwing stars, each with different blade shapes later I felt at least slightly calmer. Letting the weapons fade I turned back to face the now much paler looking Doctor.

" _Fine._ " I managed to grit out. "I'll keep going along with this, _for now._ But I am getting very tired of this runaround, Doctor." Shaking my head, I let out a long sigh. I couldn't start blatantly threatening to just up and leave. It might make me feel better, but it would just make them more paranoid and any possible breakout more difficult. "When do I leave?"

"The PRT van should be here in a couple of hours."

"Fine, whatever. Leave me alone so I can pack." The man nodded and stood to leave. "And thank Jeff for the dart board for me. I don't think I'll get a chance to see him before I leave."

"I'll be sure to tell him." I thought I detected a hint of a smile in his voice but I was already busy putting my clothes into the small duffel bag they originally came in and didn't see his face.

" _Are you sure about this, Taylor? I could have us out of here in ten seconds flat."_

" _I know you could, and believe me I'm tempted."_ I rearranged a few pieces of clothing to fit better and went to take down my dartboard. _"But I don't know enough to fight on my own yet, and you are used to a completely different body. And neither of us has ever fought capes before. We're not ready."_

" _Perhaps, but we may never be ready either if you need to learn under these conditions. So, how long will you delay?"_

" _... I don't know, Archer. At least a full month from now… if they give us room to really practice and learn… three months, maybe longer if it seems like I'm actually going to get cleared. But if after that long we haven't gotten anywhere…"_

Archer gave a grunt that sounded like grudging agreement. _"Fine, but only if we actually get the space we need for you to practice and train."_

" _Agreed."_

 **{}{}{}{} New York State Asylum for Parahumans; two days after transfer**

"Hello, Taylor. And if the notes in your file are to be believed I suppose I should say hello, Archer, as well. My name is Jessica Yamada." She was a middle aged woman perhaps in her late thirties or early forties.

"Nice to meet you, Doctor." The woman had an excellent poker face. Even better than Doctor Conner's. She didn't look even remotely concerned to be in the same room as me. Then again, I had asked around during meal times. From what the few other 'stable' patients could tell me a lot of the capes here were downright lethal, often even when they didn't want to be. Viewed in that light a nonviolent patient who is only just learning to use their abilities must seem downright safe.

"And you as well. If it's alright I wanted to ask you something about Archer before we continue."

"Sure." I responded with an easy shrug.

"I prefer to use real names with my patients, rather than cape names. I've found that cape names tend to have a dehumanizing effect which is rather counter productive in my line of work. Does Archer have any other name?"

"Uhh, well, he introduced himself as Counter Guardian Emiya, but he also said he preferred to go by Archer."

"Any reason for that?"

"I never asked. I just went with it I guess."

" _Anything you want to contribute?"_ His only response was an annoyed huff. I shrugged that off.

"Hmm and you said he introduced himself to you? Could you describe that in more detail?"

Well, this was a different line of questioning. It was always 'is he trying to make you do things?', and 'how does he make you feel?' Very few of the questions had been about Archer himself. Plenty about me. I'd made it very clear to Archer and the Doctors I was _less_ than thrilled to have a grown man riding shotgun in my head, but otherwise I was dealing.

"Sure, I guess. I was… trapped. You read about my trigger, right?"

"Yes."

I grimaced and shook my head. "Good. I've already had to talk about it too often as is." I took a long slow breath to help chase the memories away. "Point is one moment I'm... trapped, then the next I'm being served a type of tea I'd never had before by a tall muscular Asian man with white hair who looked, I don't know, late twenties? Early thirties?"

Doctor Yamada nodded politely but didn't say anything, so I pressed on.

"He introduced himself as Counter Guardian Emiya and said he preferred to go by Archer. He explained he was there to pass on his abilities, and I'm just the person who got tapped to learn them."

"Interesting, did Archer choose you?"

I shook my head. "No, he could just as easily have ended up with any other fresh trigger."

"How do you feel about that?" I was really starting to hate that question.

"It's weird having an older guy living in my head. But he keeps his mouth shut and his attention away from my senses when I need to use the bathroom or wash, so that helps. Feeling, echoes I guess, of his emotions can be annoying. I'm frustrated enough with all of this on my own. Knowing how frustrated he is with it doesn't really help. On the other hand, I haven't really had anyone I could just talk to since I started high school. Archer and I are both driven, he wants to teach, and I want to learn. So, we actually get along fairly well, and we agree on a lot of the more important things. I want to be a hero, and Archer supports that."

I looked the Doctor square in the eyes. Willing her to understand my determination.

"Archer's abilities are _powerful._ I've barely scratched the surface, but once I learn, or if I let him take over for the really dangerous fights…" I said leadingly.

Doctor Yamada only hummed thoughtfully. "You said he turns his attention away to give you some privacy, and that he could take over. From the notes in your file I assume you mean he could take control of your body to fight more effectively than you can?" She asked, dodging what I had been saying and redirecting the conversation.

"Well, yeah, so?" I gave her a quizzical look.

"How does Archer feel about spending so much time as a prisoner in your body?" She asked neutrally.

I opened my mouth to answer, then I closed it. "I don't know."

" _It's fine, Taylor. Odd and occasionally awkward, but this is_ your _body. I can hardly just claim it whenever I please."_

" _I appreciate that, Archer."_ I really did but that didn't make me feel better about being so thoughtless. _"But if I'm going to have to let you grab control mid fight I'll have to get used to letting you take control. I can't be fighting you in the middle of a battle when you'll need to focus."_

This was going to be so damn uncomfortable though. Trusting someone with my _body_ , with my _life_. I couldn't help shuddering just at the thought of it. And I knew Archer knew that too. I may not have put it into words but he could no doubt feel just how much the idea upset me.

" _Maybe, but if we are going to build up to that we'll take things slow."_

" _Thanks, Archer. I'm sorry I'm so-"_

" _Don't, Taylor. You have been through a lot. Trust like that isn't going to come easily. I understand. Anyone would be hard pressed to trust so deeply."_

I let out a long breath and nodded. Looking up I found Doctor Yamada staring at me like a hawk.

"You were speaking with Archer just now?"

"Um, yeah. He was saying he understands and it wouldn't be right to just take over someone else's body. And I, well, I was just thinking. I might need to get used to letting him take over sometimes."

"Why?" Despite how focused the Doctor seemed her tone was even and calm.

"I don't know how to fight yet. I barely know how to use the simplest aspects of my power. I'm about as dangerous as any untrained person with a knife. Archer knows how to fight, and he can use his full power. If I get in over my head, letting him have control might keep me alive."

"Why are you so set on fighting at all?"

Why was I set on fighting? Oh, no reason. The source of powers just wants to use all the earths as an all you can eat buffet. My hometown is controlled by gangs including _Neo-Nazis_ , and a human trafficking _dragon_. The Slaughterhouse Nine and the Endbringers _exist_. I never wanted to be trapped and powerless ever again. No reason, _really_.

I told her as much. Leaving out the bit about the things that grant powers.

"The need for control, and wanting to learn to protect yourself are natural reactions. Wanting to throw yourself into more fights, however, is not. The fact that you are even considering fighting things like the Endbringers when you say you are about as much threat as a normal human with a knife is highly concerning."

I raked a hand through my hair and did my best not to growl at the woman.

"Now? Right now, I'm not a threat. But in a few months, a year or two? I'll be able to make a wall of throwing knives and launch them at the speed of a fastball. If Archer isn't full of shit, I'll be able to bullseye moving targets a mile away with a bow and arrow. And that's just the _mundane_ stuff. Some of the weapons he can make might as well be separate powers all on their own."

"Having a lot of power doesn't mean you need to go out and risk your life fighting." She said it so matter of fact, but with an undertone I couldn't quite place.

I honestly had no idea what to say to that. Sure, in theory I didn't have to fight. I could give up right now. Try to live a normal, boring life. Ignore Archer until whenever he got fully subsumed and it was just me in my head again. But I would know. Every moment of my life I would know what was coming. I would know that one day the world would come crashing to an end in part because I had run and hid like a coward when I could have fought instead. And that would only be the final shame. I would spend the rest of my life terrified of the chance an Endbringer might attack. Even though Archer had a few ideas we might try using against those monsters. Even regular capes or muggers might end up being too much for me if I rejected my powers.

I'd suffered so much to get this power. It was poor compensation for everything I'd been through, and the burden that came with it was _insane._ But despite all that it was _mine_ , or at least it would be someday. How could I possibly just throw it away?

"... Doctor, I don't know if this is going to make any sense to you, but I'm going to be able to make a difference. How could I live with myself if I ignored that? If choosing not to fight meant other people are going to die because I chose to be safe. And besides… I chose not to fight back before. It didn't stop people from hurting me, did it?"

"No, I suppose it didn't…" She said sadly. "Taylor, would it be alright if I spoke with Archer for a while?"

The question caught me off guard, but remembering what I'd just been discussing with Archer I took a deep breath and nodded. With the mental equivalent of taking a step back I left an opening that Archer, stepped in to fill.

The automatic shift in my posture was still jarring to feel, but it was also less extreme. Had I really gained so much confidence in just a few weeks that my posture changed that much? Or was this proof that I was being influenced by Archer, becoming more like him?

Then my body leaned back and my arms crossed over my chest. My mouth opened on its own and my voice came out. But the words were In Archer's familiar tone of voice; subtle condescension for almost everything and a hint of amusement.

"Well, Doctor, I have to admit you are the first person who has wanted to speak with me." Amazingly Doctor Yamada did not react at all to the sudden shift.

"Why wouldn't I want to speak with one half of the most interesting case I've seen in months?" She asked sounding slightly amused.

"Only months?" One of my eyebrows hitched upward.

"Mmm, I see quite a few interesting cases in this line of work. In your case there are a number of discrepancies that simply don't add up."

"Such as?"

"The two leading theories proposed about your case are Schizophrenia and Dissociative Identity Disorder." The Doctor adopted a lecturing tone. "But neither theory seems to match with the reality of the situation. You speak with Taylor as she goes through her life, this is common among people suffering from Schizophrenia. That being said, she hasn't shown any other symptoms. No hallucinations, disorganized speech, or strange behavior. And while I was concerned over her desire to learn to fight, most Parahumans seem compelled to seek out conflict. Her reasons are, if not sensible, at least understandable. Unless that changes in the coming weeks I believe we can rule out Schizophrenia."

"Well that's good to know." Archer responded with that sardonic lilt of his. "What about the other leading theory?"

"Dissociative Identity Disorder. The hallmark of the disorder is having at least two distinct personality states, or identities. It is believed that the disorder is caused by the mind struggling to deal with traumatic incidents, and when the mind isn't up to the task, it dissociates and a separate personality forms. Taylor's trigger event would certainly be considered suitably traumatic."

I could feel my heart sink. That matched up, really well. If the professionals were convinced I was insane I was never going to be let out of here.

"There are, however, differences. You two must choose to switch personalities. It doesn't just happen at random or because something triggers the switch. More than that, both personalities are aware simultaneously, and you can interact with each other freely. That is unheard of with DID." She leaned forward in her chair. "My job is to try and determine if Taylor is suffering from DID and her powers are somehow giving you more... substance. _Or_ if this is some new manner for powers to manifest that we just haven't seen before."

"I see." For once Archer managed to reign in his sass. He honestly sounded fairly subdued.

"I'd like to start by asking you about yourself. I don't know if anything you can tell me will prove things one way or another, but I believe it is a good place to start. What is your name? Tell me about your life."

" _... How are you holding up, Taylor? This might take a while. Will you be alright?"_

" _I'm… this is really weird, Archer. It's a little like being trapped again. Only I know I can be back in control if I need to be… I, I'll let you know if it's too much. Give me something else to focus on?"_

" _...Guess it's story time after all then."_

"I was raised in Fuyuki, Japan. I don't know if I was born there. My first memory is of wandering through an inferno, everything before that moment is a blank. I was… _rescued_ , and taken to the hospital. The man who found me in the fire adopted me soon after and gave me the name Shirou Emiya."

"Japan? Can you actually speak Japanese? Being able to speak a language Taylor doesn't know would go a long way towards proving she is not suffering from DID and that this is something power related." I could feel Archer start to grin. An actual grin, something that hinted at victory.

"Of course." Then my mouth started rattling off things I couldn't understand at all, and making sounds I was sure I wasn't capable of actually making.

The Doctor blinked in surprise. "Well, I wasn't really expecting _that_ , but I can see this is going to be a very interesting case indeed." Doctor Yamada gave me, Archer, _us_ a warm smile. "What else can you tell me about yourself Shirou? You and Taylor say her power was originally yours. Did you trigger during the fire?"

Archer flinched slightly when she called him Shirou, and his emotions twisted themselves up in the strangest knot, but for now he let it go. "No, nothing like that. My, world I suppose, had individuals with strange abilities, but they weren't like the powers of this world. It was a mixture of science and a form or energy inherent to the individual. You could, with enough study and practice, learn to manipulate that energy. The effects were greatly varied and often passed down through families. The older the family the more knowledge they amassed and the deadlier they could be. That being said, the majority saw themselves more as scientists or researchers. Those like myself who worked to perfect our combat skills were in the minority."

"Taylor said you introduced yourself as a Counter Guardian. Where they a group that used their abilities to fight?"

My body shifted. I could guess that Archer was trying to decide how best to spin the story. Everything else he had explained so far was farfetched, but no less believable than spontaneously developing the ability to shoot lasers from your eyes. That said, the idea of serving the spirit of humanity after death… yeah that wasn't going to fly nearly so well.

"The Counter Guardians… Of everything I've done, agreeing to join the Counter Guardians is the thing I regret the most. The Counter Guardians were our final solution."

"I don't understand."

"Taylor has told me about some of the worst of your worlds Parahumans. Nilbog took over a town and turned all its inhabitants into monsters, correct?" The Doctor only nodded. "My world had something similar, we called them Dead Apostles. They were a lot like your myths of Vampires, if their victims turned into zombies. When a Dead Apostle surfaced the only response was to wipe out the town before the infection could spread. That is an example of what the Counter Guardians do." I wasn't sure if that bit was true or if he was just providing an example the Doctor might have an easier time relating to.

"Another is when some of those researchers would start playing with things deemed too dangerous. Not for the individual, but for the rest of humanity. The majority of the job was being sent in to eliminate such threats. To be a Counter Guardian is to kill in the service of humanity. We killed hundreds so that thousands might live." The scariest part was I knew Archer was underselling things, _a lot._

I wasn't sure if it was my place or not but I did my best to throw the mental equivalent of a hug Archers way. It boiled down to radiating feelings of peace and acceptance towards him. I got a brief surge of gratitude in response.

Doctor Yamada said nothing. She seemed to have made an art out of the therapist's nonjudgmental acceptance face. I couldn't catch even a hint of what she might be thinking.

"From what Taylor has told me your world doesn't have an equivalent, for which I am immensely grateful. We did necessary work, but it was _horrific_." Archer hissed the last word. "Your existing system is less effective, and people suffer for it, but if it means Taylor won't have to kill endlessly like I did. I think I'll enjoy learning to capture and subdue enemies rather than kill them. And if Taylor should ever run across people where that isn't enough," Archer's voice went hard, "I've been there enough times to know what to do, and how to help her through it."

" _Thank you."_ It was a bit disturbing to hear him talk like that, but I knew he was looking out for me. Both to make sure I would survive and to help me deal with the effects of doing what might need to be done.

"The Protectorate frowns very heavily on killing. It tends to cause escalation from the surviving villains."

"Perhaps, but there are exceptions, like this Slaughterhouse Nine I've heard about." Archer spoke neutrally. "Some people need to die, and if it's going to happen it's better to do it quickly and be done with it."

"As a therapist I try to advocate that issues be resolved by talking, but I won't deny that some people can't be reasoned with. One last question for now if that's alright?"

"Certainly."

"How did you end up here, as part of Taylor's power?"

Archer sighed and leaned back in our chair. "I was in a fight I couldn't possibly win. I had the skill, but not the raw power I needed. Then something offered me that power."

"Something?"

My head shook from side to side. "I don't know what it was." He lied easily. "It promised me the power to win, to save the people who were counting on me. But the price was to pass my skills onto someone else. I died shortly after that battle." I made a mental note of how vague that answer was but let it go without comment for now. "The next thing I remember was meeting Taylor." My shoulder shrugged as Archer finished speaking.

"I see." The Doctor looked down at the table apparently digesting that answer. Honestly if I didn't know the truth, I'd be lost in thought too. For all that it was a lie, what Archer was saying could launch entire new theories about the source of powers.

"I, well, _we_ have a request." Archer changed the subject.

"Oh?" Doctor Yamada seamed, not surprised, but curious at least.

"If the facility has a gym we would like access so Taylor can get in shape. If there is enough open space, I'd like to start teaching her swordsmanship. I'd really like to teach her archery but for that I think we will need a space outdoors, and I doubt anyone is going to trust us that much just yet. Though if in the future we could arrange a few supervised training sessions for her to get some practice and learn to project weapons with velocity that would be fantastic."

Doctor Yamada nodded slowly, digesting the request. "There is a small gym here, and I think you can be cleared to use it without posing a risk to the other patients or staff. There might be enough room for sword practice if you don't move around too much? I'll have someone take you later. As for getting outside to practice, I'm afraid it's too soon for me to promise anything like that."

My body sighed. "Well it's not ideal, but it's better than nothing. I suppose that will have to do for now. If there is nothing else right now Doctor, I'll pass control back to Taylor. I've already been in control longer than ever before. I don't want to push things before she gets comfortable with this." The Doctor nodded and in a reversal of early Archer stepped back and I stepped forward.

I shook myself like a wet dog as I came back into control. "Gahh, that is so _weird_."

"Are you alright, Taylor?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just so weird feeling my body move and not being the one in charge. And When he said stuff in Japanese earlier! I don't think I can even make those sounds!"

"So, you don't know Japanese?"

"No, not a word. Though I think I might try learning now that I've got a dedicated tutor on hand. If nothing else it will help to pass the time here." The Doctor nodded and favored me with a small smile.

" _You know I never taught anyone anything before you, but I'm actually starting to enjoy it. Remind me to teach you cooking when we get out of here."_

" _You can cook too?"_

" _Better believe it. People loved my cooking. I always found it very relaxing."_

" _Huh, never would have guessed."_

"Well, this has been a very interesting first session. But it seems our time is about up. I look forward to speaking with you both again soon."

"Yeah, this wasn't so bad. See you next time Doctor." I waved goodbye as she left then dropped back onto my bed.

" _Well, seems like we're off to a better start here wouldn't you say, Archer?"_

" _It's a promising start. Would you like to begin those Japanese lessons now, or do you want to spend a bit more time online?"_

I glanced at the laptop they had provided me with before shaking my head. I hadn't learned anything useful about my court case the last time I'd gone searching, and I wasn't in the mood for more aimless digging right now.

" _What's the first lesson teach?"_

" _Well for starters the proper way to address a teacher is sensei."_

And so, the lesson began.

 **{}{}{}{} New York State Asylum for Parahumans gym; one week after arrival**

I panted heavily as I came to the end of my workout and dispersed the blunted practice blades I had traced.

" _This isn't going to work."_ I thought in Archer's direction.

" _I know they are a bit heavy, but you will get used to them in time."_

" _Not that. Well, ok, that's part of it. But not exactly what I meant."_

" _I don't follow?"_

" _Your style is based on knowing where someone will attack and blocking when they take the opening. It's designed to combat highly skilled opponents with an edge in speed and strength."_

" _Correct, what's the problem."_

" _It's completely useless against most Parahumans."_

" _... Taylor, I spent years developing this style of combat. Please tell me why you are dismissing one of my life's works."_ Archers mental voice sounded much harsher than normal.

Well look at that, I'd managed to annoy him.

" _Think about it."_ I responded as I drank deeply from my water bottle. _"Most Parahumans are nothing like that. They're mostly untrained or have only minimal formal training when it comes to CQC. Blasters, Masters, Shakers, they won't close to that range if they can avoid it. Get in close and any half trained fighter can finish most of them. The Brutes, some of the Movers, and the Strikers get close, but are all people we want to stay away from because even with your fighting style we still might be outmatched."_

Archer didn't say anything.

" _It's an amazing style, Archer, but it's highly specialized and our opponents are stupidly diverse."_

" _... You may have a point. Once you can properly sympathize with a blades history that will open up more options for styles, but no sword style was ever designed for the kind of opponents we will be facing."_

" _Yeah… I don't know, designing a whole new sword style would take ages, more than that, it'll never be the perfect style for any fight. Just a style that's ok most of the time. We need a more general approach than that."_

" _Not a sword style… a combat doctrine? A loose set of guidelines based on how the enemy fights?"_

" _Something like that, yeah. I can see getting up close and personal sometimes… but the more I think about it the surer I am that I need to learn archery. You said you're bow had a range of a couple miles, right?"_

" _Or more. There are a few swords that I've modified in the past…"_

" _Right, well if I can bullseye a moving target at even a half a mile, a lot of really dangerous fights will get a lot simpler."_

" _You know, there are a lot of weapons I was never able to make into arrows. Focusing on long range will limit your options."_

" _Only if we stop modifying new ones, and I'm not saying we should never fight up close, just that we should pick our battles carefully. And what about trace bullets? If I can use that while fighting that would help a lot against a ton of different kinds of opponents. Or if I was badly outnumbered."_

" _Well sure but that takes a lot of… I'm an idiot."_

" _What?"_

" _My style of combat is largely based around making the most of my slightly larger than average reserves. I always had to fight conservatively in case I needed to fight a long battle, or I needed energy for a particularly powerful Phantasm later. You are hooked up to a magic battery with enough power to let you fight all out for_ decades, _at least_. _There's no reason to fight so conservatively."_

" _...Well. We know now. We've got space and time to train. And we've given ourselves a few months before we really start pushing to be let loose. Where do we start?"_

" _Thought exercises I suppose. Research a cape, or group, at random and devise the best way to counter them. Keep doing that until we start to find patterns… Then we'll just have to test them in the real world to see what works and what doesn't."_

" _This is not going to be easy, is it?"_

" _No, but I do love a challenge."_

" _Heh, well alright then. I'll finish my cool downs and we can see what PHO can tell us."_


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Here we go the latest chapter to christen the new thread! Still don't own Worm or Fate. Hope you all enjoy! Please remember to leave a review if you like the story!**

* * *

 **{}{}{}{} New York State Asylum for Parahumans; Three weeks after transfer**

I closed my eyes and dragged in a long, slow breath of air through my nose. For a few seconds I simply stood there and savored the smell of grass and the feel of sunlight and wind dancing over my skin. I had been locked up indoors for a bit more than six weeks straight. The closest I got to being outside was the car rides between facilities. Until I'd gotten here, I'd also been almost completely confined to a single room. Being able to leave for meals and exorcise these past three weeks had been wonderful, but there was something unbelievably frustrating about knowing I couldn't go outside when I wanted to.

Now I was finally outside and it was _wonderful_.

" _If you are done basking, we have actual work to do, remember?"_

" _... aaaaand you ruined the moment. Asshole."_

" _One hour. Tracing with velocity. Basics of archery. Practicing reinforcing your eyes when there are things far enough away to make it not pointless, if we have time."_

" _Yes, Archer, I remember the itinerary. That tree work as a target?"_ I asked as I directed my focus onto a tree about a hundred feet away.

" _It will do. Once you get the hang of it, we'll want to aim for something a bit farther away than that. Still for normal bows and arrows, and while you are just learning, it's a good practice distance."_

" _You could have just said yes, mister worried about how much time we have."_

At Archer's answering huff I tallied up a point for myself.

" _Alright much as I'd like to learn Archery, being able to use trace bullet is more likely to save my life if I end up over my head up close. Let's start with that."_

" _Fair enough I've covered the theory with you extensively so you know what to do. Just try to keep the speed low for the first few so that you can get the hang of aiming, we don't need you stabbing yourself at ninety miles an hour."_

" _Yes, Mom."_ Archer started to sputter and I tallied up another point. He was so easy to rile up sometimes.

The first three attempts I flubbed badly and the throwing knives I traced just dropped straight into the dirt. The fourth attempt shot forward a few feet before starting to arc down to the ground. I growled when I noticed that despite the improvement the knife had gone about thirty degrees to the left of where I needed it to go.

" _Don't get frustrated so quickly, Taylor. You are doing just fine."_

" _Right, right."_ I took a couple of breaths and refocused. _"Thanks, Sensei."_

Archers half hearted groan at my new term of endearment was amusing mostly because I could feel how pleased he was with the title. Honestly, I kind of preferred it to constantly calling him Archer anyway. I still called him Archer, and I was starting to call him Shirou a bit too now after listening to Doctor Yamada's explanations on how cape names could be dehumanizing. But whenever he started teaching, I liked to shift to calling him Sensei. It felt appropriate.

The fifth and sixth were closer to being on target but still off. I frowned a little, not quite understanding what I was doing wrong.

" _You don't have to work out an exact angle. Just focus on where you want it to hit and enforce the idea of a straight line between point A and B."_

Nodding I tried again. Lo and behold the knife was on target… though it did fall well short of the tree.

" _Ok, that's direction more or less down, now for speed."_

I slowly ramped up the speed until I finally had the knives whistling through the air at what must have been ninety miles an hour. I grinned viciously as I sank knife after knife into the tree all the way up to their handles. I wasn't defenseless anymore. Training had helped me lose a bit of fat that had been developing around my stomach and I had built up muscle at what I was sure was a ludicrous pace for normal humans, but learning to fight was slow going. This was something immediate that I could use to protect myself. This was proof that I was getting somewhere and that one day I would be truly powerful.

" _Alright, good work, Taylor. Now try with multiple simultaneous weapons."_

" _You got it."_

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I spent a bare moment to picture twenty of the throwing knives hovering around me. I designated the tree as point B… and fired. The chorus of thumps and the faint chime of metal striking metal filled the air even as bark fractured and blew away from the tree as if it had been hit by a small explosion. I gave a little cheer and pumped my fist completely ignoring the startled yelp from the PRT trooper carrying a containment foam sprayer behind me.

" _Nicely done, Taylor. Your grouping was very tight just now which isn't bad, however, there may be times you want to spread it out more so you can hit moving targets. We should also practice aiming for multiple targets simultaneously, and firing while moving. However, you have a good grasp of the basics now and we do have other things to practice."_

" _Right, right, oh man that was fantastic!"_ I cheered. _"Ok, Ok I'm good. Next is archery, right?"_

" _You've got it. Give me control for a moment? I think you could handle the arrows, but I'm not sure about the bow just yet. We don't want something to snap and hit you in the face while you practice."_

Nodding to myself I took that mental step back and let Archer assume control.

I paid careful attention as Archer slowly traced a longbow and six dozen arrows. I could tell he was dragging out the process of tracing them for my benefit so I could see how he did it.

"Alright, Taylor. I'm going to walk you through this a few times. Pay attention to my stance and form." Archer spoke aloud.

I sent him a mental affirmative and paid close attention to everything he was doing.

Forty minutes of grueling practice and pointers later. We were on our fourth tree and I was starting to get the hang of things. Archers latest insane demand was for me to 'walk' my shots up the trunk of the tree in a straight line. My arms were starting to ache and I could now perfectly trace a basic arrow. My shots were getting more accurate but my 'line' of arrows was more of a squiggle and a few of my shots had deflected off the sides of the trunk before disappearing into the woods.

"Miss, Hebert? Your hour is up, miss. It's time to go back inside." The trooper called over.

Groaning, I nodded and dismissed everything Archer and I had traced before turning to proceed the trooper back inside.

" _You're doing fine, Taylor. Learning archery was always going to be harder than learning trace bullet. This isn't just mental it's physical as well. You need practice and muscle memory. You are progressing quickly."_

" _Thanks, Sensei. I guess after how easy the basics of trace bullet were, I just got cocky and expected the rest would be the same."_

" _It's fine Taylor. Remember we have time to train, there is no rush."_

" _Right, you're right. Thanks, Shirou."_ Like always using his original name caused an odd lurch in Archer's emotions. It was too many things together all at once for me to really follow, but he had heard the same lecture from Doctor Yamada I had so he at least didn't protest.

 **{}{}{}{} The next day**

"I heard you had a productive time training outdoors yesterday." Doctor Yamada said as she opened our session. "Judging from how some of the trees looked I'd say I believe it."

"Ahh, well, sorry? I didn't really have anything else to use as a target and I guess I got a little carried away?" I admitted a tad sheepishly.

The Doctor shook her head but her amused smile made me relax. "I suppose that's our fault. You did tell us what you planned to practice after all. Though we will have to see about getting you a more acceptable target or we may lose half the forest." She teased not realizing that wasn't as outlandish as she seemed to think if Archer decided to show me a few of his trump cards. "How are your Japanese lessons going, Taylor?"

"Meh. I know a bunch of words now, but a lot of it still confuses me. It's very different, though at least there aren't six different ways to call everything like with some of the European languages."

"Do you speak any of those? French, Spanish?"

"No, nothing like that. Mom was an English teacher. I listened to a few of her rants about other languages. Though she did always say English was just as much of a mess in its own ways too."

"I'm afraid I'm not too knowledgeable about languages, but from what I do know that sounds accurate." She nodded. "How do you feel, about your training. You certainly seem to have put on a bit of muscle in a hurry?"

I glanced down at my arms and the developing calluses on my hands and smiled. I really was getting into shape pretty quickly, and I was very pleased with the results so far. I was never going to be a bombshell, not with my build. But I was quickly developing something between a runner and a swimmer's build. I couldn't really argue with the results. That bit of belly fat was almost gone and my legs had certainly never looked better.

"I'm feeling better than ever." I answered honestly. "More energy, more focused, _confident_." I shook my head bemusedly as I compared the me of today to the me from just under two months ago. What a difference a friend and some exercise could make. "I'm, well, I'm _happy_. Don't get me wrong I still want out of here… But no one is trying to grind me down, I've got Archer, Shirou, and he's actually _helping me,_ and you and the other Doctors are doing the best you can without just taking me at my word. I mean, I get why you have to be sure and all, so I'm not really blaming you for that. It's just, it's been years since I've felt like this, and…" I shook my head not sure what else I even could say.

Doctor Yamada gave me one of her signature smiles. Genuine warmth wrapped in understanding and sympathy that somehow wasn't pity. Honestly the range of emotion the woman could convey in a smile always blindsided me. Did she practice those or did they just come naturally? Was that what made her so easy to talk to? Or was it just a trick of her own that she added to all the ones every therapist knew?

"I'm glad you're doing so much better, Taylor. And I know the staff all appreciate how cooperative and understanding you are."

I just waved it off. I really did understand why they needed to be careful with me. Especially when during one of my research expeditions through the internet I'd found out that Burnscar had been a former patient at a similar institute. It was still frustrating, but it really did highlight just why they had to be so careful about capes who showed serious mental issues. And much as I hated it my case had enough similarities to serious issues that I could understand their caution. Plus, I knew from Dad that bureaucracy was just slow as all hell. This was going to take time, but that was fine. I could be patient, and I'd just use the time to my advantage anyway. At least now I knew I was really getting somewhere.

"The past couple of years, I've felt… Stuck. Like I was running in place never getting anywhere. Now I feel like I'm finally moving forward. It's slow and frustrating. But I'm moving, and I'm building up momentum." I gave the Doctor a slightly goofy grin.

"Still set on the life of a crime fighter?" I only grinned wider in response. "Of course." She sighed. "Have you had any luck working out tactics that don't involve perforating your enemies?"

"Some." I shrugged. "Blunted arrows may work and I've worked out how to trace a bola."

"A bola?"

Nodding I traced the little weapon and gave it a twirl. A trio of rocks on the end of three strings all tied together might not look like much but it was a decent small game weapon. I hoped with practice I'd get good at using it to bind legs and trip people up. Yeah, they would wind up eating pavement when they fell, but really it was combat. People were going to get hurt and at least this way no one would end up getting stabbed. So, progress.

"Haven't quite got the hang of it yet, but it's definitely non lethal."

"I see, I'm glad you're taking this seriously."

"Of course. What kind of idiot would just run out and start blasting criminals?"

"A lot of capes do exactly that, on both sides of the law. It's particularly common with teenagers, which is what makes your restraint so refreshing."

I blushed, just a little, at the praise. That was something else that had been thin on the ground before my trigger, though I was getting used to it.

"I was thinking we might spend today's session thinking about long term plans for how you and Shirou might deal with your situation."

"Umm, I guess? But we're getting along alright so far. Aren't we?" The question was directed both at the Doctor and at Shirou.

" _Don't look at me, I don't have any complaints right now."_ Shirou answered sounding as lost as I felt.

"Right now, your whole life revolves around training, learning, and resting. You interact with barely a handful of people. What about if you make a friend that you enjoy spending time with that Shirou can't stand, or vice versa? What about when you start dating, or if you wanted to enjoy a certain type of literature?" The Doctor asked with an arched eyebrow.

" _Oh no! No, no, no, no! Taylor, make her stop! I refuse to be part of this conversation!"_ Shirou shouted in a panic.

I could feel my blush taking over my face at the implications. Dating someone? With Shirou sharing my senses, and feeling my emotions and, and, and! I buried my head in my hands and moaned. This wasn't something I had thought about. It wasn't something Archer had thought about. Damn it all it just wasn't right!

" _Nope. That's it. I'm not staying to get yelled at. I'll be in my Reality Marble!"_

And just like that his constant presence in my mind faded to almost nothing. The sensation was so strange after weeks of sharing my mind that it completely distracted me from my impending meltdown. Archer was just gone? Then he was back.

" _Uh, so apparently I can duck into my Reality Marble. Honestly had no idea I could do that before now. Umm, problem solved?"_ Aaaaand he was gone again.

Groaning I thumped my head against the table. Repeatedly.

"Stupid, Shirou! Problem solved my ass! When he pokes his head out of there, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind! Took him how many freaking weeks to figure that out?! I could have been enjoying nice long showers instead of stupid military scrub downs, and he only figures this out now! When I get my hands on him!"

"Taylor?"

"That idiot is hiding in his Reality Marble!"

"His what?"

"Reality Marble, the Unlimited Blade Works, it's." I bit off what I'd been about to say. She didn't need to know about that. No one in this world would hunt us down for study because of it, but it was our trump card, and it might pay to keep an ace up my sleeve. "It's a sort of mental plane, with information about every bladed weapon he's ever seen, and I think a few shields, and maybe some clubs, and mauls, and well, you get the idea."

"I'm sorry, I don't think I understand."

Growling, I chained my irritation for later and dragged my full attention back to the Doctor. Holding up my hand I traced a regular old dart with striped red and black tail fins. Without even looking I chucked it at the dartboard off to my right. The muted thump confirmed that I was getting far too much practice with the damn things if I could do that without even looking.

"That's tracing. It's basically turning energy into a sort of fake matter. It doesn't last forever, but while it does it's real enough. Thing is, to trace something you need to _understand_ it." I fixed the Doctor with a serious look as I stressed the word understand. "I need to know what it's made of, its _exact_ dimensions, _how_ it was made, how it has been used." I waved a hand trying to encompass just how much that was. "And I need to do all of that in an instant." I said, tracing another dart in under a second, holding it up for her to see. "The human mind just isn't meant to hold that much information simultaneously. And Shirou can do it with any simple weapon he has ever _seen_."

Doctor Yamada leaned back in her chair looking thoughtful. "So, it's a thinker aspect to your powers? A place where all that information is stored?"

"Basically, yeah."

"So how is Shirou able to hide inside of it?"

"I don't know! I don't even think _he_ knows!" I shouted letting my frustration back out. I only just managed to catch sight of the barest twitch of Doctor Yamada's lips. Ugh, I suppose from the outside this must seem pretty funny. But I was the one dealing with it and I was so going to give Shirou a piece of my mind when he stuck his head out again.

"Still, this is at least something of a solution, or at least a stopgap. It wouldn't exactly be fair to Archer to ask him to isolate himself all the time. Then again even if it is frustrating for him it would be less awkward for both of you. What do you think?"

"It'll be enough for now." I answered a bit absently trying to plan out the rant I was going to subject Archer too.

"Yes, but what about in the future? You have a whole lifetime like this ahead of you."

"Not really, just until Shirou fades. Not that we have any idea how long that's going to take..." I couldn't fight off the wince. "Honestly, I've been trying not to think about that." I said sadly. Archer was my best friend; age difference and mentor role be damned. I couldn't just share my head with someone so willing to help me for weeks and not get attached. He had been my only real support after my trigger. The one person I knew would always be on my side no matter what, and someday I was going to lose him too. It was the one thing about my powers that I truly _hated._

"Shirou is going to fade? What do you mean by that exactly?" Doctor Yamada asked seriously.

"You didn't know? I know I mentioned it at least once at the last place, but then they were really only interested in the answers to all their Master Stranger questions." I rubbed at my left arm, a nervous gesture I was trying to give up. "I've had Shirou in my head for six weeks. I can already trace weapons and fire them. I developed a decent level of skill with a bow in about forty minutes. I can reinforce my body a bit to push past my normal limits for a short amount of time." I listed off the skill I'd developed so far.

"The archery you might be able to chalk up to having a skilled instructor, but the rest?" I shook my head. "It's not everything Shirou can do, and I'm not half as skilled as he is with any of those things, but I'm learning at a rate which should be _impossible_. Tracing weapons the way he does took him years to master and I'm picking it up in _weeks_."

"What does that have to do with Shirou fading?"

"Because he's not exactly fading. He's being… he called it being subsumed. His skills, his knowledge, bits of his personality, I'm slowly absorbing them all. It's how I'm learning so quickly. Eventually there won't be anything left, and it will just be me. A heavily influenced version of me, but me."

"And you're alright with that?" She questioned.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't have a say in it. It's going to happen no matter what I do. I just have to try and hold onto the things that matter the most to me and hope for the best. Honestly there are worse role models to emulate. That's not exactly what's happening, but it's a good analogy. I think, if I can be less self sacrificing, and more willing to open up to others than him... Yeah, I could live with that."

"That's…" Doctor Yamada seemed to be having trouble finding the right words.

"It's crazy, and scary, I would be lying if I said I wasn't terrified I'll end up losing myself. But I can't stop it, well I could." I mimed slicing a line down my inner arm. Doctor Yamada's eyes shot wide open and her mouth opened to protest, but I waved her off. "I'm not suicidal, Doctor. Like I said, there are worse role models to emulate. I won't mind being more like him, confident, in control, powerful, willing to fight impossible odds to keep others safe? He has a lot of good qualities. I never gave up when I was being bullied, I won't give up now."

"I'm glad to hear that, but in the future please try not to scare your therapists like that. The idea of a suicidal patient who can make and launch blades is…" Doctor Yamada shook her head and looked extremely pale.

I winced and nodded. I hadn't really thought about it like that. It was supposed to be a dark bit of humor, but then for a psychiatrist I guess it was probably more like a flashing neon warning sign. Ugh, I bet I'd be under increased observation for a while.

"Sorry. My sense of humor is pretty rusty, and between spending so much time with Shirou and everything I've been through I guess it's gotten a bit dark." I shook my head.

Doctor Yamada nodded acceptance even though she was eyeing me much more carefully than before. Definitely going to be under increased observation.

"How does Shirou feel about this? About the fact he's dying, again?"

Ahh, well that was a tricky question. How much to tell her? How honest did I really want to be about all of this?

"You'll have to ask Archer directly sometime if you really want his opinion, but he's accepting it. I think. Being a Counter Guardian, that took a huge toll on him. He always wanted to save people, killing all the time like that… it made him hate his dream. I always get the impression he's happy to pass on his skills to me, but he's always reminding me to not make the same mistakes he did."

"So, he's trying to prepare you as best as he can for the future? I suppose that makes you his legacy?"

The question caught me completely off guard. I'd never really thought of it like that. It was always about getting ready for all the enemies out there waiting for me. I'd never considered how Archer might see me. Archer's legacy. Pride burned brightly into existence as that thought settled firmly in my mind.

"Yeah, I guess it does." I answered, with a proud smile gracing my face. The Doctor's answering smile was just as warm.

 **{}{}{}{} A few hours later.**

Space in the gym was limited, but there was enough for me to practice with swords, and just enough to practice with a spear.

Shirou always pushed swords, especially the pair of married Chinese swords. Even after having more or less given up on teaching me his style he was still attached to those two blades. But I didn't have that emotional attachment to them. More to the point, the swords were short and heavy. I could swing my practice versions, but it was tiring, and their limited reach worried me. I needed a style of combat that kept opponents at a distance when possible. Like I had told Shirou there were some kinds of powers that no level of skill could compensate for. I needed to be fast and light on my feet, never letting opponents lay so much as a finger on me.

Light and fast, that was the key. Spears, rapiers, knives, katanas maybe. Katanas were fast blades, but with the focus on slashing they were still slower than thrusting weapons. In and out, attack and fade back. Constantly circling to slide around attacks and get the enemy in the side or back. Even without Archer's guidance I could manage to trace a simple spear, and was just good enough at sympathizing with the weapons history to get a feel for the basic stances and thrusts. So, I drilled them, again and again until my arms shook, and my legs ached.

Leaning against the wall I sipped my water.

Archer's style of combat was all about directing the fight, but that couldn't be how I fought. My opponents were too diverse and untrained for that to work. I had to be like wind or water, constantly moving, flowing around my opponents and _always_ adapting. Like that one boxer said, float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. That was what I needed to be.

There were other more practical reasons for focusing on learning the spear as well. Spears were really just staffs with a point. If I could fight with a spear I could fight with a staff, and staffs were a lot less lethal in a fight. It would be a good weapon for taking down normal people without a lot of stabbing and bleeding. Yeah it was still pretty violent, but really what was I supposed to do? Ask criminals nicely to surrender?

Just the thought of it made me chuckle. Maybe once I built up a reputation that might work. Assuming the criminals weren't complete idiots.

I'd have to look into martial arts. I was sure there were at least a few out there that worked on the principle I was aiming for. At least some of those must have weapon components. Even if they didn't, I could hopefully adapt them to suit my needs. I was going to make the absolute most out of my abilities, and I wasn't afraid of hard work. It still might not be enough in close against some capes. Velocity for example was fast enough no style would really be enough for me to evade him. For opponents like that I would just have to be creative.

" _Don't suppose you'd let me off with an apology?"_ Archer asked as his familiar presence flowed back into my mind.

" _Don't know, are you planning to run away again if I don't?"_

" _Ahh, well…"_

" _I get that you didn't know you could do that, I don't have the slightest clue how you even managed it. But I'm still pissed! All those awkward moments and military scrub downs… I could have been taking actual long hot showers, Archer! Do you have any idea how much I've missed those?!"_

" _Well,"_

" _And where do you get off running away like that?! You just up and left me to deal with a bunch of stupidly awkward questions by myself you jerk! She got distracted for a bit by a few things, but I had to lie about what your Reality Marble! And then she still made me discuss strategies for not just shoving you out of my mind all the time!"_

" _Wait what was that about my Reality Marble?"_

" _Don't change the subject!"_ I shouted. _"You still haven't even apologized!"_ I don't know what prompted me to try, and I didn't expect it to work, but I did my absolute damndest to convey a slap across my mind.

" _Oww! How the hell did you slap me?!"_

" _How the hell did you hide inside the manifestation of your soul while inside my mind?!"_ I shot back. Partly because I had no idea how I slapped him and partly because I really wanted to know how he managed that.

" _I don't know! Now how did you slap me?!"_

" _Hell if I know! And I'm still waiting for that apology!"_

" _Alright, alright! I'm sorry! Jeez, are you happy now?"_

" _No."_ I huffed.

"... _Why aren't you happy?"_ He asked cautiously.

That took me a few minutes to work through. I was a bit pissed still. But time, exercise, and the fact I managed to slap Shirou had definitely taken the edge off.

" _You left me on my own."_ I started slowly. _"And Doctor Yamada and I ended up talking about the fact that you're being subsumed. Then, then you stayed in your Reality Marble all day. It's just, you've never been gone before, and it reminded me that one day…"_

" _Ah."_ He said awkwardly.

" _Yeah."_ I grimaced and took a sip of water to distract myself.

" _Does it really upset you that much?"_

" _You're my best friend Archer. And you've supported me through all of this. You're teaching me everything you know… and someday you'll be gone."_

Archer's sigh echoed through my head as I wrapped my arms around my knees and leaned back against the wall of the gym.

" _I'm sorry, Taylor. Of all the things I thought were unfair about this situation that never crossed my mind. I've been alone so long… The idea of people actually missing me once I'm gone is just…"_

" _Guess we're both pretty messed up, huh?"_

" _Yes. I suppose we are."_

We didn't say much more to one another the rest of the night. Both of us had too much on our minds, and no idea what to say to one another. The consequences of long term isolation I suppose. Even now that we both had someone we could rely on, someone we could confide in, we just didn't seem to have the words. Though Archer only retreated into his reality marble long enough for me to have a proper shower. His now familiar presence helped to ease some of the tension that had been building all day. He might not be here forever, but he was here now.

It would have to be enough.


	5. Chapter 5

**Don't own Worm, don't own Fate. Read and Review. Hope you all enjoy.  
**

* * *

 **{}{}{}{} New York State Asylum for Parahumans; week seven**

The archery target the asylum had scrounged up for me was looking particularly lovely now that I had completed the Celtic knot design. True some of the arrows were off by an inch or so but it was well done. I'd probably make a damn good showing at a professional tournament. One hour a day, three times a week, for four weeks, it was extraordinary progress. Part of me regretted the fact that my skill was largely due to Shirou's abilities and our merging, but even still I had worked hard to improve quickly.

Taking a deep breath, I traced a metal disk about the size of a plate and launched it into the air like a frisbee. I took a bare moment to aim, being sure to lead the target, before firing an arrow. I clipped the edge of the disk. Not bad, but I could do better.

The next disk I hit dead center, but I missed the third and fourth by a few inches. And so, it went. Shooting flying discs out of the air with a bow and arrow was hard, which made it good practice. It would be even better practice if I wasn't launching them myself that way, I'd be less prepared for their flight path and speed, but that could wait until I had mastered this much.

At the end of my hour I'd managed to get to the point where I was bulls eyeing every third disk or so, and only missed maybe one in seven. Good progress, but still more room for improvement. Shirou had been oddly quiet while I practiced. That was starting to be a thing with him. He just said less in general as time went on. Sometimes out of nowhere he would have something snarky to say. And every now and then when I was practicing, he would launch into a lecture or a detailed explanation, but there was getting to be less general chatter between us. He was losing himself, slowly. Whenever he did speak up it was still definitely him, he just spoke less now.

Prompting him still got him talking though, so that was something. I wasn't on my own yet or anytime soon, but seven weeks here and three before that… two and a half months for Shirou to start noticeably fading. Would that pace start to accelerate now that it had started, or hold constant? Would I know the end was coming or would it catch me off guard? With a sigh I dispersed everything I had traced in the past hour.

"Alright, Jack. About that time, right?"

The trouper favored me with a fond smile. "Yeah, time to head back inside." With an agreeable hum I started walking. "You mind if I ask you something?"

"Shoot." Jack was an alright guy. We had chatted a bit whenever he got stuck watching me on these little training sessions of mine. Mostly on the way out or back in. He was nice enough not to distract me when I was practicing.

"Why haven't you ever made a run for it? The Lieutenant chewed the docs out when they put in for someone to watch you train a few times a week. Said you'd make a break for it inside of ten minutes. It's been weeks now and you're still here, so, why?"

I chuckled. "You wait till we're practically back inside to ask in case I'd never thought off it before?" I joked. "Where's the wire you're wearing so I know where to direct my answer?"

Jack only fidgeted a little.

"Tell you what, I'll trade you an answer for an answer." I said coming to a stop so I could face him. Sure, being honest about this when it would make it back to the rest of the staff inside an hour. It was not the brightest move, but I wanted out of here. Applying a bit of pressure wasn't such a bad idea to move things along.

The trooper took a moment to mull that over. "No promises, but I'll do my best."

"Alright then. Near as I can tell I've had all the doctors convinced I'm as sane as the next cape for the past two weeks give or take a bit. But I'm still here. If they aren't interested in keeping me locked up someone on your end must be, so, why?"

Jack looked away. Guy had a lousy poker _everything_. Didn't take a thinker power or instincts honed in the hell hole they called high school to recognize the question made him uncomfortable.

"Don't know anything about that, miss."

"Bullshit, Jack. You troopers gossip like old ladies. Even Lieutenant Williams. If she knows you know. You want your answer you'll give me mine." Hell, they even gossiped with _me._ Which was the only reason I suspected this might work.

Jack fidgeted for a moment before he started to speak.

"There are, ah, rumors. Nothing concrete you know? Stuff we've heard from old friends in other commands, what few orders we do get, a little of what the rest of the staff might know. All this is stuff, it's been passed on through who knows how many people, yeah?" I nodded. "You get far enough up in the PRT you start running into _politics._ Word is something about your case got the interest of the guy running Boston, Armstrong. Nice enough guy, but he's kind of an egg head. Real interested in figuring out stuff about how powers work, where they come from, all that. Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't really make him popular with the more, uh, military minds."

Something about my case interested him? Was that Shirou's bullshit story about being recruited to teach someone abilities he had developed in exchange for power, or just the fact that I was the first Parahuman on record to come with a built in instructor? Either way I could see how I might have drawn the man's attention. But how did that relate to me still being here?

"Thing is, being an egghead doesn't really make him any good at politics, or networking. So, someone more military minded, who's trying to get ahead hears that he's interested in you, and all of a sudden, they have to take an interest to. And because they aren't too fond of the Director, they might throw a bit of weight around, maybe call up a few people in Washington even to make things more difficult. A few concerned Congressmen and a bit of, ah, _legal fiction_ , can cause a lot of red tape."

For fucks sake, really? Was I really caught in the middle of a pissing match between grown men? This was my life now.

"Who exactly, should I be on the lookout for? Just in case he ever decides to take a more invested interest in my case." I ground out.

"Word is it's, Tagg. He, uh, has a reputation." Jack fidgeted a bit.

"Oh, do tell." I almost growled.

"Ex-military, led a team of PRT troopers for years. Handled Ziz containment zones." Jack winced. "That's not a duty anyone wants. Gunning down poor bastards who just want to escape someplace that can't produce the food to support them all, never mind all the other shit it takes to keep a city running, or how the places are all but lawless. Woman, kids, whatever crazy cape may have triggered in one of those hell holes." Jack shook his head. "They tell horror stories about that shit in basic. Some people say Tagg dealt with it all a little too well. That was a few years ago and people still talk about it."

Lovely. Just, lovely. That was the kind of man using me as part of some stupid political maneuver. I was furious, but I chained the feeling. It couldn't do me any good now.

" _Remind me to put an arrow in his ass someday."_ Archer grumbled.

" _Only if you remind me. We'll each take a cheek. Keep him standing at attention for a few weeks."_

"Well, you did answer my questions so I suppose I should return the favor." I said bringing my focus back to Jack. "There's a few reasons I haven't busted out of here, just yet."

"Yet?"

"I could have been gone any time, just would have needed to pass control to over to the guy who can _really_ use my abilities." I wasn't sure if the troopers knew Shirou's name, but between the orderlies gossiping and whatever they were briefed on to better handle their job I was sure the troopers knew _of_ him. "Getting out of the building like this would have helped, but I could have gotten out regardless."

"So, why stay?"

"I bust out and I'm either a villain or a vigilante as far as the government is concerned. That makes things difficult for me, long and short term. I get caught after proving I can break out of this place, where do you think they would send me next if they can convince a jury I'm dangerous and insane?"

Jack didn't say anything and I didn't blame him. It wasn't exactly a pleasant thought to consider, but people had been sent to the Birdcage on flimsier logic before. Canary might just be joining that list of poor unfortunates if the news was to be believed. The way my luck tended to run I wasn't going to bet on my odds if it came down to that. Especially not with this new bullshit about this Tagg guy trying to delay my release. If my breaking out would prove him right and help him win points, he would likely jump at the chance to bury me and win more.

"There's other reasons too. I break out, I can't go home again. Can't see my Dad. Not without putting both of us at risk. I'm getting good, Jack, but I can't compete with the real heavy hitters yet. Enough numbers of low or mid tier capes might be enough to bury me too. What am I going to do? Pick a city and fight a one woman war against every gang in it, all while dodging the PRT and Protectorate? I will if I have to, but that… How long can anyone last like that?" Not long if the statistics weren't entirely fabricated by the Protectorate's PR department. Six months, on average. I was going to help but I couldn't afford to throw my life away. I was going to help, but I needed to find a way to get at that _thing_. I wouldn't be doing any good dead.

"Besides, I've got one more trick I want to learn, and another month and a half to do that in." There's the bait.

"Month and a half?" And he takes it.

"Give or take. When I came here, I promised myself, three months if they let me train. Less if they didn't." I shrugged. This was risky, but the Doctors knew I was frustrated, and this was the only pressure I could apply to hopefully move things along. "And like I said, there's one more skill I'd want to learn before leaving."

"What's that?"

I grinned at Jack and started to trace something special. The ghostly outline of a red spear started to form over my outstretched right hand. Gáe Dearg. A spear I suspected would cut through most forms of power granted invulnerability and projections. But I still wasn't skilled enough. I couldn't grasp everything that made up the spear's legend. It was beyond my reach and the backlash shot up my arm like a line of fire as the image of the weapon scattered in particles of light. Cursing I shook out my pained limb. I was getting closer. I'd manage it sooner or later.

"I keep telling people I've got weapons that might as well be powers all on their own." I said as the pain died down. "Did you all think I was blowing hot air this whole time? I just can't trace them yet. But I'm getting closer. Once I can do that?" I grinned toothily. "Then those heavy hitters better watch out for _me_."

Without another word I resumed walking back towards the asylum. I had no doubt everyone would know exactly what I said within the hour. Maybe that would light a fire under some of them. Maybe it wouldn't, but it couldn't hurt to remind them that for all I might be playing nice, that's all it was. Me playing along.

 **{}{}{}{} The next day**

"You knew exactly what you were doing when you spoke with Jack didn't you?" Doctor Yamada asked with fond exasperation.

"I'm sure I don't know what you are talking about." I replied innocently as I played with a blunted butterfly knife. I wasn't sure where Archer had come across one of the things, but it was a great way to pass time and I was starting to get really good with it. Sooner or later I'd be doing it with a live blade. Now that would be fun. Well, watching people react would be fun. For now, it was just distracting me from wanting to hurt someone, badly.

"You asked him if he was wearing a wire, and you know full well how fast news travels here."

"Fine, so I'm trying to put some pressure on the staff and get myself out of here. Were you ever going to mention to me that I'm still here because some idiot wants to use me to make points with other idiots in Washington?" I asked pointedly as the butterfly knife click-clacked in my hand.

"We were hoping it would be resolved quickly enough that you wouldn't need to know."

With a final click I snapped my knife closed and tossed it onto my bed. "Doctor, really, am I ever going to get out of here the legal way?"

Doctor Yamada nodded firmly. "You will, this kind of tactic is a delaying action at best. The only reason it is working at all is because Parahuman law is a legal mess full of contradictions and loopholes."

"Not filling me with confidence, Doctor."

"I'm afraid that's the best I can offer, Taylor. I'm only a psychiatrist. But there are things I'd like to talk about with you this session if you don't mind?"

"Nowhere else I need to be." I snarked.

"These weapons you have mentioned in the past, the ones you claimed might as well be separate powers, can you tell me about them?"

That actually caught me so off guard that I had to pause and blink at the woman. She never gave a damn about my powers. It was actually pretty admirable of her. She cared about me, Archer, and our separate and collective mental health, the rest just didn't matter to her.

"Huh, so that caught the PRT's attention?" The Doctor didn't say anything, but she didn't need to, the answer was obvious. "Really, I've only been saying it for a couple months now, you would think they would be faster on the uptake. Doctor, you can tell the PRT I told them to learn some subtlety, and that they should let me out or get lost. I'm not telling them anything."

"Well, I only promised to ask." The doctor admitted with a small smile. "I'd like to return to our previous discussion."

"Do we really need to talk about this again?" I growled.

"You insist that you are going to be a hero, but you don't have a plan. As your therapist it is my job to talk you out of suicidal behavior." She calmly responded.

"I have at least five plans at this point." I protested, though I couldn't seem to look the Doctor in the eye.

"You have two plans. One calls for sitting around somewhere high up with a bow and arrow, and the other is to wander the streets at night looking for a fight. Neither plan includes any kind of backup. Taylor, plans like that will get you killed eventually."

I knew that. I'd told Jack basically the same thing. But damned if I was going to cave to the alternative without a fight.

"You're pushing the Wards, again. I, they didn't even pretend to listen to me. They just tossed me out on my ass. They had Dad half convinced I was insane for a while, and even now he still doesn't know what to say to me. And you want me to trust them?" I stood up and started to pace, almost without a thought I traced a new butterfly knife and started spinning the blade around my hand. The rapid click clack of the practice blade opening and closing beat out a rhythm to my emotions.

"If I had to take orders from Armsmaster I'd be more likely to break his stupid halberd over his head then listen. Jackass. Telling me how my power works. It's not like I tell him how his power works." I tossed the butterfly knife to my left hand and traced a throwing star to bury in my dartboard before tossing the knife back to my right hand and resuming my tricks. "And the rest of them just let him! Miss Militia just stood there trying to act…. Ugh, she was oh so sympathetic. Don't worry it's for your own good, and to keep people safe, and doesn't that make the fact that we're going to lock you up seem _so_ much better?" I hissed.

I didn't even stop spinning my knife this time instead I just traced a few dozen darts and fired them directly into my dartboard. The steady thumping lasted only a couple of seconds and did nothing to help me calm down.

"And now there is this Tagg asshole! He's never even met me and he's trying to make my life more difficult! And for what! Because he has to be seen getting in some other PRT morons' way? Does he even think I'm dangerous, or is it just some excuse he's using?! Where does he get off interfering in _my_ life!"

I spun to fix Doctor Yamada with a look. I couldn't help but be impressed with just how calm she looked. At the same time, I wanted break that calm. I could kill her in a heartbeat. It would only take a thought, and she just sat there perfectly calm and controlled while my life kept circling the drain. But the thought flowed away as quickly as it came. I liked the Doctor. I knew this was just how she handled things. There was no point getting angry with her. I threw myself onto my bed and glared at her.

"That's the group you want me to join. The group you want me to trust to have my best interests at heart? You want me to trust them to have my back when I need them?" I growled. "Give me one good reason why I should, because they sure as hell haven't given me any."

The Doctor took a deep breath before speaking. I had to wonder if maybe that was a tell that she was afraid of me. Oddly that thought calmed me down in equal parts pride and shame.

"Taylor, they're the only option. Through design or accident, they are the only group of any real size that will take a minor."

"And then they wrap us in bubble wrap around villains and criminals, only to throw us at Endbringers as soon as they can talk the parents into it." I scowled. "I've got my own tailor made mentor. I don't need a half dozen from out of the bargain bin."

"Your mentor was a member of an elite kill squad. If you follow in his footsteps-"

"The villains all come down on my head, and I eventually die alone in a dark alley. Or the Protectorate eventually hunt me down for manslaughter, they bring up the months I've spent here and have me declared insane. Kangaroo court express to the Birdcage. I know. I know!" I cursed and resumed my pacing.

"In a bit more than two years you'll be eighteen, you could join the Guild then. Though it is very much the kind of work Archer wanted to spare you from. They do take a significant number of their targets alive, but just as often they are the ones carrying out kill orders."

"Doctor, isn't there supposed to be a good option? Something I can actually point to and say 'This is what's best for me'?" I, well I wasn't begging. But I might have been whining, just a bit.

"Sometimes all life gives us are bad options, Taylor. We just have to pick the best of the lot and keep moving."

"... Maybe. I don't know. I'd still rather just kick Armsmaster's ass."

"Do you really think you could? He's been a hero for a very long time. He has a lot of experience."

"What he has are a bunch of cheap ass tricks and a suit of power armor." I growled.

" _Taylor, don't underestimate an opponent. The man is skilled and experienced."_

"Damn it all, Shirou! Fine, maybe! Practice weapons, no reinforcing or power armor… I'd bet I could give as good as I got. He's bigger which means he has reach and power but I'd be faster and with weapons I just learn stupidly quick. I'm already damn good, I just need combat experience. If we both went all out… well he'd be dead, I don't really have much in the way of nonlethal past a certain point."

" _Good, that's a much more honest assessment."_

" _Fuck you."_

" _American teenagers, no respect at all. Really, must you be so crass?"_ He teased.

" _Go sit on a mace and spin."_ I was in no mood to be polite, especially not when he wasn't unconditionally on my side.

"Why do you care anyway, Doc. Do they give you a bonus if I join?" I grumbled.

"Hardly." She deadpanned. "Taylor, you're a good person. I'd hate to see you get in over your head when help is available to you."

"Doesn't feel like help. Feels like being a sellout."

"So, don't sell out. Milk them dry for every concession and advantage you can. _Use_ them, just don't get yourself killed over a grudge, no matter how justified."

"... I don't know. My head says you're right, the rest of me wants to tell them to go to hell."

"Just think on it, Taylor. You don't need to decide anything right now. Just think about it."

"Yeah…Sure." I knew she had a point. Shirou seemed to think we could make it on our own. Though he admitted it would require leaving a lot of broken bodies in our wake. Dad would be a toss up. He was trying to support me as best he could, but he didn't know how, not with this. Odds are he would push hard to get me in the Wards if he had even half a clue what going solo would risk.

What the Doctor was saying made a lot of sense, but it was just so damn frustrating. It was like being right back in Winslow. Do what you're supposed to and let the people who screwed you get away with it. I was so damn tired of this song and dance.

"One last thing before we wrap up this session, Taylor."

"What now?" I groaned and plopped down onto the edge of my bed. I didn't want to deal with any more of this today. I felt exhausted enough already.

"I want you to stop launching weapons when you are frustrated." She, it wasn't an order but it was pretty close.

"What?"

Doctor Yamada sighed. "Lashing out with violence, even against an inanimate object can be a very unhealthy reaction to stress. Especially if it becomes your norm. It can be slightly desensitizing for you, and can be a sign of willingness to commit similar violence against people." She lectured calmly.

I flinched down in my seat and looked away.

"Taylor, I know that this is incredibly frustrating for you but you cannot lash out like that against people, and I would strongly suggest you not do so against even inanimate objects either. Especially not around other people. If I was anyone else, anyone less used to being in the same room as people with the power to utterly destroy me, that display of yours would likely have sent someone running."

"...Sorry, Doctor."

"It's alright. As I said, you are understandably frustrated and angry. But you need to find a less violent coping mechanism." She said kindly.

I didn't say anything for a moment but the butterfly knife I had discarded earlier caught my eye. Hesitantly I picked it back up and offered it up for inspection. "Something like this maybe?" I asked hopefully. It wasn't inherently violent, though it was still a weapon.

Doctor Yamada eyed me flatly for a moment before sighing lowly. "I suppose that is more acceptable. Though I'll have to insist you not brandish it at anyone, and that you limit yourself to a practice blade to limit any potential discomfort it might cause others."

I nodded energetically. I might be pissed off right now but that was no reason to scare people. And given where I was, I really couldn't afford anything that made me seem unstable.

 **{}{}{}{}**

Laying on my back I stared up at the ceiling. I'd already trained for the day, and run through a dozen combat simulations with Shirou. I wasn't scheduled to meet with any of the Doctors and dinner wasn't for another hour. Dad would probably call sometime after dinner, but again that was a way off.

In theory I was supposed to be trying to fully understand one of the Noble Phantasms from the Unlimited Blade Works. But the process that was allowing me to learn Shirou's abilities seemed to simply not have progressed that far yet. I could understand the physical proportions. I could grasp the fighting style of the previous owners, could even understand the process that forged _some_ of them. But that wasn't enough. A noble Phantasm was something _more_.

Or perhaps my connection to the Unlimited Blade Works just wasn't strong enough yet. I could find things in there if I knew what I was looking for, or even if I just knew what style of weapon I was looking for, but it wasn't natural or fluid the way Shirou described it. I didn't just instinctively grasp exactly the weapon I wanted unless I had already traced it dozens of times before. So, what was supposed to be some kind of meditation was really just turning into a lot of time to think about things I wanted to ignore.

The Doctor's advice about the Wards was foremost on that list. Shirou wasn't really happy about it either, but he was stupidly practical and thought it wasn't a bad way to kill time and gain experience while we tried to find a way to hit the power granting world eater we were actually after. He was also hopeful they might have information we could use to find the thing. I thought that was a bit of a long shot and that even if they did, I wasn't going to have access as a Ward, but he did have a point.

Everybody seemed to have a good point. Everyone except me. I knew life wasn't fair. I wasn't some idiotic idealist living in a fantasy world, but for my options to all be this shitty was just. Well I suppose it was par for the course really.

" _Taylor?"_

" _Yeah, Shirou."_

" _There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about for a while now."_

" _Ok?"_

" _Why do you want to be a hero?"_

" _Seriously, is that all? The way you said that I was expecting something, you know, big."_

" _Look, just answer the question."_ He shot back with a bit of sulk in his tone.

" _Fine, jeez it's not like it's some huge secret or anything."_ I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts. _"Growing up, it was everywhere, Shirou. The local Protectorate were on the news like clockwork. Their merchandise was everywhere. Do you have any idea how many little girls there are that dream of one day being exactly like Alexandria? My generation was raised on the cape culture._

" _They spoon feed the stuff to us the same way they used to spoon feed kids the idea of the American dream and superiority to get them into the military. It's bullshit, but it's good bullshit because it's not exactly a lie. Just a lot of polish and some smoke and mirrors to cover up what they don't want you to think about. Join the Protectorate, travel the country, meet people dressing up in funny clothes, then throw them in jail. Don't worry about casualty rates, or Endbringers, or the dozens of fates worse than death that might just be waiting for you._

" _And then when we get a bit older and we can look past the PR crap… Shirou they go and fight impossible battles to keep the rest of humanity from being crushed. It's terrifying and you want to call them crazy or insane, but you can't because they do it for you, and your family and_ everyone. _How could anyone_ not _respect that? I've got real power now Shirou. I'm a glass canon, I'm barely any tougher than the next human. But the kind of firepower in your Reality Marble might be enough to let me punch all the way into the big leagues. They put themselves on the line for people like me, even if they've never done me personally any damn good. How could I live with myself if I didn't pay that forward for the next generation the way they did for mine?"_

" _So, you're doing this out of a sense of duty?"_

" _Yes, no, maybe? It's... That's definitely part of it, but that's not all of it. Shirou I know you never got to really see my home town, but the place is falling apart. The gangs run half the city or more and it's all the heroes can do to keep them from getting the rest. I went to high school with more junior gang bangers then I could keep track of. The whole city is dying and they gangs are just getting fat off of the carcass while everyone else suffers._

" _It pisses me off so much. Is that really the best people can hope for? Is that what the rest of the world will end up looking like if things keep going the way they are? I hate it, Shirou. I want things to change for the better for once. I want to be part of making that change."_ I said with conviction. And I meant every word of it. This was my world. I wasn't going to let some alien glutton _eat it_ , and I sure as hell wasn't going to just sit back and let a bunch of selfish assholes pick it apart either.

Shirou was quite for a minute, but that suited me just fine. It had been a long time since I really stopped and thought about what the Protectorate actually meant. Not the bullshit they were forcing me to deal with, or all the crap that bogged down any large group of people. Just the idea they stood for. That group of crazy brave individuals that decided they were willing to put it all on the line for people they had never met before. I could respect that. I did respect that. It didn't make my list of grievances with them any shorter or less relevant, but it was a reminder of what they were meant to be. What they could be when the big threats reared their ugly heads. What I wanted to be.

It burned something deep inside of me trying to reconcile the two contradictory images of the Protectorate and PRT. The unjust imprisoners, and the brightest beacon we had against all the world's evils. With a snarl I rolled off of my bed and dropped to the floor.

Pushups. A bit of exercise might help clear my mind, and I hadn't done any yet today. Why waste gym time doing exercises I could do in my room anytime?

" _It's a better reason then mine, I suppose."_ Shirou finally spoke back up.

Lowering myself back down to the floor I let my forehead rest against the cool linoleum as I tried to process just what the that could possibly mean.

" _Shirou what are you talking about? Why are you really asking?"_ I glanced under the bed and noticed a throwing knife. Idly I reached out and grabbed it trying to remember when I had traced it, and how I had managed to lose it under my bed.

" _...My adoptive father tried to be a hero."_ Shirou's tone was, _weird_. Realizing this was going to be a more serious conversation than I was expecting I leveraged myself up back onto the edge of my bed. _"I don't really know a lot of the details, but from what little I do know, he always tried to save as many people as he could_. _He saved me from that fire. But something in me was broken after that, and frankly I think something in him was too."_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _He, gave up. He didn't go hunting Dead Apostles, or magi tampering with things better left alone. Instead he just did his best to raise me. And I, wasn't a normal kid. I was a bit apathetic and I latched onto my adoptive father's old dream, claimed it as my own. I would go out of my way to help people whenever I could, and dreamed of being a_ hero of justice _."_ He sneered. _"I obsessed over saving people so I might understand why saving me made him so happy. It eventually got me killed, you know. I was executed by some of the very people I had saved, but I didn't regret it even then."_

" _So, if you never resented them, or regretted it… why make such a big deal out of it now?"_

" _Because I willingly sold my soul to Alaya in exchange for power thinking after I died, I would be able to save even more lives. I thought it would be a continuation of my life's work, and she made me murder endlessly. Now here you are, learning from me, absorbing me, and holding on so fiercely to the same dream my father and I chased. I was worried I might end up leading you down the same naive path to ruin that I walked."_

Yeah, I could see why he might be concerned when he put it like that. Still that wasn't my problem. Given just how much the _heroes of justice_ were screwing me over I don't think I would ever be looking at the world with that kind of idealism. That mental image of the Protectorate as the shining beacon was an ideal, but I knew just how far short reality truly fell. It might be worth fighting for an ideal, trying to reach one, but I'd never believe in it so whole heartedly. I just couldn't.

" _No need to worry about that, Shirou. The shine's all been worn away for me."_

" _Good, that's good. As long as you can go forward with your eyes wide open, I'm sure it will all work out."_

The next few minutes passed in companionable silence as I toyed with the throwing knife I'd found under the bed.

" _Err, Taylor? Is that the throwing knife from the first week here when you were actually trying to throw them for a few hours?"_

" _Yes! That must be how it ended up under my bed. A bunch of those bounced all over the place. Thanks, I was wondering how it got there. Was starting to drive me crazy."_

" _Taylor, use structural analysis on the knife."_ Shirou said with a kind of deadly calm.

" _Uh, sure… I'm not seeing anything weird Shirou it's just a knife like any other knife I've ever traced."_

" _It hasn't degraded at all. Stupid, how did I miss this. Gaia and Alaya have had their influence almost completely blocked here, and even if it wasn't, you're on a mission from Gaia, she's not fighting to degrade our mage craft at all!"_

" _So, wait, doesn't that mean my traced weapons are, permanent? Or nearly permanent? Something like that."_ I'd only ever payed maybe half attention to Shirou's lectures on the finer points of mage craft and how Gaia and Alaya usually operated. None of it seemed particularly relevant given we were on our own here and dealing with capes instead of mages.

" _Yes! And it also means traced Noble Phantasms should come out closer to the original."_

" _Wait… No loss in power? Or a lot less of a loss in power?"_ That was big, that was very, _very_ big.

" _That's what I'm thinking."_ Shirou response was laced with vicious glee and I felt my lips twitching up into an evil smirk.

It wasn't a game changer, but I wasn't going to turn my nose up at a significant power boost. I almost couldn't wait to get out of here and find a _real_ threat to cut my teeth on.

 **{}{}{}{}**

"Hey, Dad." I spoke into the phone and leaned against one wall of the little cubicle they let me sit in.

"Hey, Taylor. How are you doing?" Dad sounded tired. But that wasn't really anything new.

"I'm, frustrated, and angry. Really angry. Doctor's finally admitted I'm fine but I can't leave yet."

"That's, I don't understand?"

"Yeah. I don't really know all the details. All I can get are rumors and a bit of guesswork from the people who do know things. But some idiot is making a fuss about keeping me here to piss off some other guy who took an interest in some of the stuff Shirou might be able to explain about powers, and they dragged some big name politician into the mess. So now I'm stuck here under some kind of 'legal fiction' apparently."

"That's, is there anything I can do to help?" Dad asked sounding determined for the first time in… well a long time.

"Don't know. I'm not even sure who it is that's applying the pressure keeping me here. Don't know how you would go about getting them to back off either, but Doctor Yamada seems to think that it won't be enough to keep me here for too long. Though how long is too long when we're talking about politicians, I have no idea."

"Damn. I'm sorry, Taylor. I could try asking around but most of my contacts are in the mayor's office, and the police department. Nothing on a state level, let alone anything that might be out of state." Aaaand he was right back to sounding defeated. Great.

He needed something he could actually do. Chewing at my lip I mulled over a few things. With a sigh I gave into what was likely inevitable.

"Listen, Dad. There is something you could do to help me out."

"Yeah?" He asked sounding hopeful.

"Yeah, Dad. I, I want to be a hero when I do finally get out of here. And as pissed at them as I am Doctor Yamada has made some, really, _really_ good arguments for the Wards rather than going solo or trying to get into some other team."

"Taylor,"

"I hate it." I spat cutting him off. "I absolutely hate it! But no one lasts forever solo, and I just, fuck! I don't want to join them, but I don't know what else I can do at this point, and I just…" I trailed off not knowing what else to say.

"Taylor, talk to me, what do you need from me? How can I help?"

"...Track down the standard Wards contract. Get in touch with anyone who might be able to give you an edge, a lawyer, the Youth Guard, parents of Wards through PHO maybe. Just, if I'm going to get pulled in after all of this shit they have put me through, I want to drag as many concessions out of them as we possibly can."

"That's what you really want to do?"

"No, I want to tell them to stuff it. But this is the smart thing to do."

"Then it's what we'll do. Any idea how long I have to work on this? Or what kind of concessions you want to get out of them?"

"I don't know, a few weeks, probably more. As for concessions… I don't know. Guess it depends on what the normal contract looks like?"

"We'll figure something out then. More than enough time for your old man to pull a few strings and start asking questions." I smiled slightly at Dad's joking tone. "Enough of that for right now though. How's your Archery practice been going? Ready to give Robin Hood a run for his money yet?"

"Heh, just about, yeah. The standing target is too easy at this point. I'm shooting moving disks out of the air now." I bragged lightly. The rest of the call dissolved into meaningless small talk, but it was a lot more positive than any conversation I'd had with Dad in recent memory.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Don't own Worm, Don't own Fate Stay night. Please leave a review if you enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **{}{}{}{} New York State Asylum for Parahumans; week eight**

Meditation, as always, proved to be supremely unhelpful. Though it did give me time to think over an idea I had. Still thinking could only take me so far…

"I am the bone of my sword." As soon as the last murmured word left my mouth my whole body exploded in pain. I screamed as lines of fire shot up and down my limbs and spiked into my chest. It only lasted a moment but the pain left me panting.

" _Taylor! What the hell were you thinking?!"_

" _Had to test it, Sensei. Owwww. I thought that might happen, but I needed to be sure."_

" _What the hell are you talking about?"_

" _Look it's… ok regular magecraft is like science or math, right? Study diligently, learn everything you can, and then apply it to the real world."_

" _Yes."_ Shirou drew the word out, his voice was filled with condescension.

" _Your reality marble is like art."_ I replied dryly, not at all impressed with his tone of voice.

" _... Run that by me again, and this time actually explain."_

With a huff I moved to a sitting position on my bed.

" _Think about it. You are rewriting existence with your inner world. A world that reflects_ you. _You manifest it with an aria that describes your life and yourself. Your origin and affinity are_ sword _, and you were basically fused with a magic sheath."_

" _... ok, so what?"_

" _So that's not science, that's abstract, and symbolic, and it's_ personal. _Shirou, there was no magic or magecraft here before the intergalactic tapeworm showed up. I'm not using my circuits, if I even have any. We have no idea what if anything my origin and affinity might be. All of what I do is being handled by a growth in my brain. Maybe as I take more of you that will eventually change, but right now? We're still pretty different. And that's the problem. The Unlimited Blade Works is_ yours _. An aspect of yourself, a representation of yourself, hell for all I know it's your soul dragged out and made manifest around you. And_ I'm not you _."_

" _... If you are right,"_ He began slowly, _"then you won't be able to fully grasp a noble phantasm until I am more fully subsumed."_

" _But we don't have time for that."_ I shot back with conviction _. "I need to be able to call on that kind of power, and I need it soon. Using your aria won't work for me because I'm not you. But an aria is probably the fastest way to make my own connection. I need a backdoor, or maybe a foothold, to get access. Even just limited access."_

" _You want to write an aria? Taylor you don't just sit down and come up with an aria for something like this! Or, well, OK, so younger versions of myself have. But they had mine to use as an example, and they were a lot closer to being me than you are right now."_

" _But I do have yours to use as an example. Besides, my Mom taught college level English, Shirou. I grew up surrounded by poetry, and double meanings, and words chosen with precision to convey_ just _the right idea."_ I rubbed at my temple as I thought back to more pleasant times. To Mom's mini lectures, to being read the classics and Mom stopping to point out specific meanings and implications. _"And I don't think I need a full aria. Just enough to strengthen my connection and get my foot in the door."_

" _And you think you can do that now? At the drop of a hat?"_

My only response was to hum back as I started mentally dissecting his aria.

I am the bone of my sword. Simple enough on the face of it. Without him there are no swords. He makes them. He is their core, their base. Only… it specified _sword_. The reality marble was called the Unlimited _Blade_ Works and despite the fact I knew there were more than just swords contained within it... swords were the only weapons to be _seen_ there. That was telling. It went right back to Shirou's preferences, and his natural predisposition.

But I didn't share those. I was more than willing to make use of anything and everything. Swords, spears, shields, knives, bow and arrow, hell if I thought it would kill the space worm I'd stab it with a pointy stick. I also hadn't felt any backlash until I finished the last word, that was telling.

Steel is my body and fire is my blood. He trained hard to make his body a weapon, to make _himself_ a weapon. Just like I was doing. But the last word bothered me. Fire is my _blood_.

Maybe it was a difference in culture, but it brought to mind the idea of someone who was hot blooded. Ignoring the 'romantic' implications it made me think of someone who was passionate, _in the moment._ Someone who acted and reacted more strongly when demanded. Which fit Archer, and I'm sure it fit with me to some extent but… but it also implied a less emotional state when things weren't serious. And that seemed to fit with Shirou's more apathetic stance on most things. But that wasn't me. Ever since I decided to throw myself into this. Ever since I chose to fight, I had felt _driven._ My fire didn't boil through me when I needed it. It was part of me to the core, always with me, even if it dimmed when things were not immediately serious.

I have created over a thousand blades. True, for both of us in the literal sense. But this wasn't about being literal. This was about emotions and implications. I hadn't added those blades to the Unlimited Blade Works. I was just someone who came along and started using them.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and spoke.

"I am the bone of my blades." No pain, and I felt something stirring in the back of my mind. Good. But I needed to maintain focus.

"Steel is my body and fire is my soul." I extended my right hand and fixed the image of a spear Archer was intimately familiar with in my mind.

"I have inherited over a thousand blades." You are mine. You are all _mine._ I might not have forged you, but you have been left to me, and I will not be denied!

"Trace on!" Everything snapped into focus more clearly than ever before. Every aspect of the blade's nature was laid bare before me. It took longer than any normal weapon but I drew on that knowledge and brought it out into the world in all its bloody glory.

My eyes snapped open to the most beautifully deadly thing I had ever seen in my life. Gáe Bolg. The barbed spear that pierces with death. A terrible weapon the Protectorate would hate me for using to its full potential… but a weapon that could allow me to survive encounters with even the most powerful parahumans. With this weapon, and others like it, I could fight. I could win, and I could kill.

" _... Well done. Why that weapon in particular?"_ Archer asked. He sounded much more subdued than usual."

" _It felt appropriate. From what little you have told me this is the weapon that started it all for you."_

" _It killed me."_ He deadpanned.

" _You got better."_ I teased.

" _...Give me control for a moment, Taylor. There is something I have been considering ever since we realized our projections will not fade. It won't work perfectly for you, but any advantage could be the difference between life and death."_

Curious, but more than willing to humor him I dissolved the noble phantasm I had created and took a mental step back. Shirou slipped forward filling the gap. He took his time working slowly to trace something I hadn't ever expected. A sheath, brilliant blue and marked with golden lines. I had never seen this before, but I knew it immediately for what it was. Avalon.

Shirou took two full minutes to slowly trace the sheath perfectly. I could feel a sort of conviction as he worked.

"It won't work perfectly for you. It only worked partially for me, and I have no idea how effective it will be for you… But you can trace Noble Phantasms now. No matter what it won't be much longer until things start to get dangerous. When they do I would rather you have every possible advantage, no matter how small." His piece said Shirou did _something_.

I couldn't really understand what he was doing but Avalon slowly faded into my body. The experience was… surreal. Like a blanket made of warm air and peace wrapping itself up around and through me. Having done what he intended, Shirou stepped back.

"...Thank you, Shirou."

I didn't get a verbal response, just a sense that he had nodded.

Setting that aside I took a deep breath focused on another Noble Phantasm. I'd made my breakthrough. Now I needed to practice.

 **{}{}{}{}**

"Taylor... You've packed." It was as much a question as it was an observation. I only nodded in answer.

"I've finally gotten the hang of tracing those specialty weapons, Doctor. And it's been just over two months since I got here. Honestly, it's a just a few changes of clothes in a bag. Most of it's still in the drawers."

"But you're ready to leave whenever, aren't you?" Doctor Yamada asked with a frown.

I shrugged. "If you're right this can't last and I could be gone any day, it'll be that much less to pack. If you're wrong, and I'm here for a few weeks more, cycling a few things in and out of a bag isn't all that difficult… And if everything goes to hell in a handbasket somehow, I can be gone whenever."

The Doctor winced. "Taylor, I know this is frustrating but,"

"But nothing." I cut her off. "I'm already being held here for no reason. Who's to say things couldn't get worse? Before I was the cape who shoots throwing knifes like fastballs, now I'm the cape who makes weapons that do who knows what." I shrugged. "I'm not ruling anything out, Doctor. I want out of here with a clean record, but I'm ready to run if something goes bad."

We sat in silence for a moment until I traced my favorite distraction and started practicing tricks. The familiar click clack of metal soothing my mind.

"I considered what you said last week." I finally offered.

"Oh?"

I nodded absently as I watched the light reflect off my rapidly moving practice blade. "You were right. I don't like it, but joining the Wards is the smart thing to do. Not sure how the heck I'll manage to deal with that ass Armsmaster for two years, and I'll only have to deal with him occasionally. Gallant I'll have to see all the time. I know I shouldn't hold it against them, but if they had just listened to me…" With a huff I looked away.

"It's a very mature way of looking at things, Taylor."

"Pragmatic." I corrected. "I don't think I can manage mature. But pragmatic… yeah, that I can do. I also took the other part seriously. I told Dad to track down the standard Wards contract and get reading. If I'm going to get anything good out of this, I need to know what's already on the table and what I can reasonably demand."

"Smart." She praised lightly.

"Thanks." The conversation lapsed into silence as I continued to spin and flip my practice knife. "Will I ever get to talk to you again? I don't… These sessions have been, awkward, and stressful and frustrating… But they helped." I shook my head.

The doctor favored me with one of her brighter smiles. "Maybe. I do shifts with various Ward teams, but they shuffle us around. There is a policy about not letting any single therapist be in a position to influence a parahuman."

"That's stupid." I said bluntly. "The whole point of a therapist is to be a positive influence you can trust. That's like telling the Wards not to trust you before they even walk through the door."

The Doctor only shrugged. "I happen to agree with you, but unfortunately I'm not in a position to influence policy."

"Always have to find a new way of lowering my expectations, don't they?"

Doctor Yamada chuckled lightly. "Well if that's your decision then perhaps we should spend today's session discussing methods to control and channel workplace frustrations?"

I rolled my eyes but nodded anyway. It couldn't hurt after all.

 **{}{}{}{}**

"How are you holding up Taylor?"

"Just fine, Dad." I grinned. "I finally got it down. I can summon up weapons that'll have anyone with sense running." I didn't even try to keep the pride and glee out of my voice.

"That's…"

"Dad," I said amused and exasperated. "Just say you're proud of me."

"I'm proud of you." He loyally parroted back at me.

"Good. Now how's that research going?"

Dad grunted unhappily. "Slow. The standard Wards contract is easy enough to find, but the particulars are pretty different from the contracts I usually work with. I've got a meeting with a lawyer scheduled for Tuesday though. The Youth Guard were only too willing to talk to me, but they were more enthusiastic than useful. Talked my ear off for an hour about how to keep my naive innocent child safe from all the PRT's dastardly tricks that might put them in harm's way."

I outright growled. "I'm afraid I'm already _far_ too familiar with the dastardly actions of the PRT to be considered _naive_. And how am I supposed to be a hero and help people if I'm running away from fights?"

"Taylor, keep in mind that _I_ would appreciate you not getting hurt." Dad said dryly.

"Yeah, well… look I just, I can really make a difference, Dad, I know I can. But I can't do that sitting on the sidelines."

"Couldn't you just give these weapons to other people to use?" Dad's voice wavered between joking and desperate.

"... Maybe one or two could be used by other people, Dad. But even if most could be, I wouldn't trust them with just anyone. These things are game changers, but most of them are, they can be pretty lethal."

"Taylor…"

"Dad, it's ok. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve nobody will be able to complain about. Finding some non-lethal moves took a bit of digging, but I've got a few things that'll work just fine."

"More of your mystery game changers?"

"Not saying a word over the phone, or in this building if I can help it."

"You're being paranoid."

"Not if they really are out to get me."

"You're planning to join them." He deadpanned.

"And I'll start trusting they don't plan to lock me up even longer the moment the ink is dry on my contract. Until then they remain the enemy of my freedom and liberty and are not to be trusted." I declared imperiously.

Dad chuckled. "Well there was one last thing I wanted to talk to you about actually. I got a call from someone with the New York PRT. They wanted to set up a meeting with you next Saturday. Apparently, you're due to be released on Sunday and they want to talk with you before you leave." Dad sounded genuinely happy about it. I was thrilled to finally have the end of this stupid tunnel in sight, but...

"That's… is that good or bad?" I could see it going either way but with how my luck tended to run… "Should I just run now before things can get worse?"

"Taylor!"

"What? I was being serious when I said I wouldn't trust them until the ink was dry."

"You are almost free and clear, please don't throw that away for a life on the run because you are feeling paranoid." He deadpanned.

"It's justified paranoia."

"Maybe so, but please don't go acting on it."

"Fine." I grumbled, drawing out the word. "How are things back home?" I asked.

"Not good, the ABB have been pushing lately, something has them all riled up. Nothing official, but people are talking."

"Damn."

"Mmm. A few of the dockworkers who know people are saying we might be looking at a gang war if things don't calm down soon."

"Stay safe, Dad."

"I will, Taylor, promise. I'll email you what I have on the Wards contract tomorrow so keep an eye out for it. I'll send updates as I figure things out."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Anything for you, Taylor."

"Goodnight, Dad. Love you."

"Night, Taylor. Love you too."

 **{}{}{}{} New York State Asylum for Parahumans; Saturday Week Nine**

The Asylum had let us hold the meeting in their staff/conference room. Dad was sitting at the table calmly sipping a cup of coffee. I was too anxious to actually sit. So, I paced around the back of the room and made Dad fidget as I spun my butterfly through my fingers. I had finally graduated to a live blade and decided to celebrate by giving it a personal touch. The once chrome surface was now a wave pattern of black and red.

"Taylor, would you please stop risking your fingers and sit down?"

"Really don't want to sit down, Dad. Way to nervous. And I've been practicing for weeks I can do this stuff with my eyes closed."

"Please don't." He pleaded.

Groaning I dissolved the knife and then re-traced it with a practice blade. Glaring I showed Dad the difference and started practicing more difficult tricks I hadn't quite mastered yet. Three nasty would be cuts to my hand later and the door finally opened.

I _dropped_ my knife.

Legend. Fucking Legend, of all damn people was here to talk to _me._ I dissolved the blade I dropped and slowly moved to take my seat beside Dad. All the while I was trying to calculate just how many walls I would need to cut through to get out of here. And just how bad my odds were against Legend if this was a setup to screw me over even worse. If he could enter his breaker state of being light without moving, I was _screwed_. If he needed to get moving like some people believed fighting him indoors might actually let me win... but even then, I'd need to get the drop on him and _pray_. None of which would be any easier with all the containment foam sprinklers everywhere. I really, _really_ , hoped I wasn't being set up.

"Mr. and Miss Hebert?"

"Yeah, that's us." I answered cautiously.

Legend smiled. It was big and warm and happy and I suddenly had a very good idea of why he was the head of the Protectorate.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you both. Especially you Miss Hebert. Not many new capes would have shown the kind of restraint you have in this situation."

"Thanks?" I shared a look with Dad who looked just as lost. Right, well, couldn't blame him for that. "Look, don't take this the wrong way, but why are _you_ here." My thoughts were still racing and I realized if this was a set up, I couldn't even fight all out. If I killed Legend, even to save my own skin, I'd be hunted down and killed within a week. I… fuck. If this was a trap I just wasn't walking out of here.

I actually sank down into my seat waiting for his answer. I knew I should have run when I had the chance.

"Ahh, well…" He rubbed at the back of his head and I just tried not to cringe. This was it. My mission to save the world was over before it even started. Killed by the powers of bureaucracy. "Given how badly your case has been mishandled, and the fact that this was only a short flight for me, I decided to handle our apology in person."

It took me a few moments to process that. I wasn't about to be carted off and never heard from again? _Legend_ was here to apologize to me? I just ended up staring.

" _Taylor? Come on, Taylor. Head back in the fight."_

" _Right."_ I shook my head back and forth and refocused. _"Thanks, Shirou."_

" _Any time, now focus. Don't get overawed."_

I finally settled for just giving Legend a suspicious look and keeping my mouth shut.

"I'm afraid the original Master Stranger screening would have been inevitable unless you had managed to slip under our radar until you fully absorbed your teacher. That being said I've worked with Armsmaster in the past. He isn't the best at dealing with people. I'm sure that didn't help with the initial meeting."

"Yeah he was…" I shook my head before I could get caught up in a mini rant.

Legend offered me a small understanding smile. "He is excellent at his job, just not at dealing with people. Unfortunately, that seems to be the least of the issues we have made for you."

"Tagg." I managed to keep the growl out of my voice, but it left my response sounding cold. Maybe not what I had intended, but better than the alternative.

Legend gave me a confused look.

"According to the trooper rumor mill, someone named Tagg directed some politicians towards my case to get me held here longer." I explained coolly. "One of the Doctors was kind enough to confirm that I was being held here by political pressure for the last few weeks."

Legend groaned lightly and rubbed at his forehead. "I was, actually unaware of that tidbit. I'll have to have a conversation with the man about not pushing cooperative parahumans." He looked genuinely angry about it to.

Then a few thoughts clicked into place. "Wait… If you didn't know about Tagg, what issue were you talking about?"

Legend grimaced. "Your case, the one against the persons responsible for your trigger event was handed off to the PRT. And I know neither you or your father have been kept apprised of the cases progress."

I sat up, back straight as a board, and waited for the shoe to drop. I'd been expecting this for weeks now. Emma's Dad pulled some legal bullshit, no one would corroborate that those three liked to use me as an emotional punching bag, they were all going to get off free as birds, _again._

"Much as I hate to do this, I'll need you both to sign nondisclosure agreements before I can fully explain."

Wait… what?

"Why?" Dad asked cautiously. "NDA's shouldn't be required at all for the outcome of a legal case."

"I can tell you right now all three girls were tried, found guilty and sentenced... but there was a lot more going on than anyone realized. That's what the NDA's are for." Legend explained sliding the sheets across the table along with a pen.

Dad immediately picked one up and started to read. I let him focus on that. He knew enough to handle it. I was just too preoccupied trying to wrap my head around the fact that those three were actually getting punished for once. It took a few minutes but Dad eventually signed his and passed me the other. Almost absently I signed it and passed it back to the grim faced Legend.

"Right, there were several issues wrapped up in it all. Your Principal apparently decided to ignore the early incidents because of Miss Barnes's father's status as a lawyer. Unfortunately, this established a pattern and with every incident she ignored… well if the matter was dragged to any sort of higher authority, even just the board of education, she would have likely lost her job. So, she did her best to bury the issue. The longer the bullying lasted and the worse it became the deeper the hole she dug. You might be pleased to know she was in fact fired fairly early in the investigation, and has since been barred by the courts from ever again working with children in any capacity. She is also facing up to ten years of jail time. The judge has a niece your age and was… very unimpressed."

That did give me a vindictive little thrill. I was glad to hear Blackwell had gotten what was coming to her, but she wasn't the big fish in my books compared to the trio. Maybe a tie for Madison, but well below Emma and Sophia.

"That's good." I answered. "But how is that an issue for the PRT?"

"About six months ago the Protectorate East North East captured a vigilante going by the name Shadow Stalker. She was facing a significant amount of time in Juvenile Detention for use of excessive force. The local Director offered her a deal. If she joined the Wards as a probationary member, she wouldn't have to do any jail time... Her civilian name is Sophia Hess."

For a bare moment the room was utterly silent. I didn't speak. I didn't move. I didn't even breath. Legend seemed to pick up on my non reaction and subtly tensed.

I took a deep breath, and let it out in a slow hiss. With a mental jerk I grabbed Shirou and _threw_ him into control of my body.

 _"Take over before I try to kill him."_ That was all I managed to get out before my thoughts devolved into incoherent cursing and screaming.

"... Miss Hebert?"

My body raised one hand palm out, and my posture adopted a sort of disinterested slouch. "Shirou Emiya, actually. Taylor is currently cursing and ranting, quite inventively. She told me to take over before that amazing self control of hers' slipped."

Legend nodded very slowly and his posture relaxed minutely.

 _"That shallow, soulless, cunt! Throwing away her best friend so she can prance around like a pretty little peacock and play chief bootlicker to a no name psychopathic vigilante!"_

"Really I have to admit I am impressed." My voice said with very false cheer. "With everything she has been through she has managed to not lash out at anyone, and within ten minutes and a handful of sentences you very nearly pushed her past her breaking point. Truly impressive." My mouth dripped condescension, and my body language became more combative.

"Tell me was that the plan? Push her past her limits against someone who you all believed would survive the experience? Then use it as justification to have her locked in a more robust prison? If so, I should applaud your cunning. Though I ought to mention she has access to a number of weapons that in theory can kill anything living. And that is only if she chose not to get creative." Archer declared cheerfully.

"What?! No! Of course not!" Legend denied looking truly offended. "She had a right to know about her case. Besides which trying to convince her to join without telling her? That would have been setting ourselves up for disaster when she inevitably found out."

 _"And Blackwell! That incompetent, lazy, gutless, coward! Forget baring her from working with children they should have neutered that useless, sepsis riddled, cow!"_

"Hmm, so you say." Archer responded glibly. "So please, explain to us exactly how one of the children in your care, someone who you knew to have violent tendencies, managed to get away with continuing her bullying campaign, and further get away with something so heinous as what happened to Taylor."

"From what our internal investigation has found, as well as your former principal's testimony, the woman kept Sophia's actions from the PRT to prevent her previous failures from coming to light."

Shirou grunted and waved Legend on.

"Checking the girls phones turned up enough evidence to convict them, and once it was clear how the winds were blowing several students stepped forward with testimony about scattered bullying against themselves, as well as an overwhelming confirmation that they focused on you in particular."

 _"Sure, once they knew they wouldn't get smacked down then they find the guts get involved. Useless, cowardly, sons and daughters of clap riddled whores!"_

 _"Taylor, please stop."_ Archer said with suppressed mirth. _"If you keep this up you are going to make me laugh. It would ruin my image."_

I only growled back.

"Sophia's status as a Parahuman kept the case confined to a closed court and the case out of the public eye. Sophia is currently in the care of a juvenile detention center. When she turns eighteen her case will be reevaluated, though it's very likely she will be serving additional time."

 _"Couldn't we have dug out some of the old crowd pleasers? Like boiling her alive in oil?"_

"Emma Barnes, despite her father's best efforts, was also transferred to a similar facility. Although the things she said and the way she acted during the trial have raised several concerns that she might be suffering from some form of mental issue. She has been court ordered to meet with a psychiatrist during her time there, the psychiatrist's findings will likely influence what, if any, additional punishment she might be facing after she turns eighteen."

 _"No, really? The girl is cracked. Go figure!"_

"Madison Clements managed to get a plea deal based on the fact that she was unaware of what they were planning to do in advance, and her willingness to present evidence against the other two. She'll spend the next year in juvenile detention and has a significant amount of community service waiting for her once she gets out."

 _"Prissy little turncoat, tagalong, slag."_ I grumbled.

 _"Taylor? I think that's about as good as could be expected."_

 _"...Do you think we could get away with blowing up a few government facilities if we called it training accidents? Just a couple juvie halls and maybe a prison?"_

My body actually snorted. Legend and my Dad looked at us oddly but Shirou waved them off. "Just something Taylor said."

 _"I'm sorry, Taylor, but I don't think they would buy that."_

 _"Do you think we could get away with it if we had an alibi?"_

 _"Taylor…"_

 _"Fine, damn it all, fine! Move over. I'm calm enough to keep a lid on things now."_

 _"Are you still willing to work with them?"_

 _"... Just give me back control already."_

Reluctantly Shirou moved aside for me. I came back to my body glairing and without even hesitating traced my practice butterfly knife. The familiar click clack filled the air and soothed my frayed temper even as it made my father and Legend fidget. I kept my silence for the better part of a minute.

"This morning I was ready to put up with the Wards and whatever bullshit it might come with if it meant not risking another situation where I ended up _detained_ , for any reason. I am, very seriously trying to remind myself that all the reasons I had before still apply."

"Miss Hebert?" Legend asked. Even with his mask it was easy to see the change in personality had thrown him off balance.

"Yes." Click-clack-click. "Before I knew about this my Dad and I had a list of concessions we wanted to wring out of the Protectorate. Now I'm not even sure what I could demand that would be anywhere near equivalent to my grievances. I am going to assume that you came prepared with some kind of offer you thought might tempt me anyway."

Legend nodded slowly.

"We will start with that, then go from there." I said very firmly. With a final twirl I snapped the blade shut and down onto the table. Then I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest while glaring.

"Ahh well, I know you didn't get much in the way of schooling during the first three weeks you were under Master Stranger quarantine." I nodded confirmation. "And from what I understand there haven't been many people to help with your studies here, and your work ethic has been, ah, less diligent than your practice with your powers or your exercise regimen."

"I was a bit past caring what Winslow thought of my studies." I dryly responded. "And while Shirou knows a lot of things it seems he's forgotten the intricacies of high school level math and science."

" _Hey!"_

I ignored the indignant voice in my head. "What's your point?" I demanded

"Well, given your long absence from school we thought helping you catch up with tutors over the next few months, and possibly into the summer, so you can test into a better school for your junior year might be a good step." He offered.

I honestly hadn't even thought about schooling. I'd have wiped Winslow off the map before going back into that hellhole. But I hadn't even been considering my education. It just didn't seem to stack up when compared to what I knew was out there. And Shirou hadn't really cared either. Glancing at Dad I saw he liked the idea. Much as I might want to call school pointless, I'd read through the Standard Wards contract and some stuff the Youth Guard enforced. Schooling was mandatory until I turned eighteen. Even getting my GED wouldn't change that. If I could get some one on one focus and never even have to tell Winslow to fuck off that wasn't a bad deal. It was a start at least.

Nodding I rolled my wrist, prompting Legend to continue. Then I actually blinked. I was acting like a big shot while dragging concessions out of fucking _Legend._ Clearly Shirou was being more of an influence on me than I had previously thought. Yeah, I might have the entire Protectorate by the metaphorical balls, but holy hell was I acting cocky.

"We also thought that given your history with Armsmaster putting you under his command might not turn out so well. At least not so soon."

" _No, really, how long did it take you to figure that one out."_ I internally snarked.

"And given returning to Brockton Bay after such a long absence coinciding with a new Ward would be fairly obvious." Ok, point. "I was hoping you might consider joining the New York Wards for a trial run."

"What?" Dad cut in sharply. "My daughter hasn't been home in three months, and you want to keep her away even longer?"

"Well, we also wanted to offer to cover travel expenses and a hotel for you to use over the weekend, and to help you look for a job in New York, Mr. Hebert. If you can't find a job by the end of summer vacation, or if Taylor decides the New York Wards are a bad fit for her we could get her transferred to Arcadia high school in Brockton Bay." Legend said consulting a folder of notes for the name of the school. "She would have to make a public transfer to Brockton Bay either a few weeks before or after the start of the school year, but we thought a new environment might be healthier for your daughter right now."

That was, surprising. Glancing at Dad I could tell he was torn about the idea. Brockton Bay was home, he was invested in keeping the Dockworkers union afloat and trying to get the Ferry back up and running. But he looked honestly tempted.

"Dad?" I asked gently.

"... I'm not going to lie, I'm rather attached to Brockton Bay." Dad said slowly. "But for Taylor's sake relocating would be a small price to pay." He shot me a loving look. "Probably be good for me to find a job with less stress and more regular hours at my age anyway." He said with a smile.

I gave him back a more hesitant one of my own. Part of me wouldn't mind putting that city behind me, and this was only a trial run. If I decided I hated New York I could always go back. Finally, I shrugged. "It's your call I guess, Dad. I don't know how I feel about it, but if we decide we hate New York we can always go back home?" I glanced at Legend for confirmation and he nodded.

"We'll accept both offers." Dad answered. "Taylor, you said there were some other things you had in mind?"

With a deep breath I nodded. "I'm going to demand a note be placed in my file that my Master Stranger testing and my time here at the asylum both came back with a clean bill of health, and that I was cooperative throughout. I'm not going to stand for having someone drag this up someday in an attempt to pressure me, or discriminate against me." I said steely eyed.

"Reasonable, and entirely understandable. I'll make sure it's done." Legend made a note on a legal pad. When had he pulled that out?

"I've just about maxed out the range of a normal bow and arrow. But Shirou has a custom one I can trace. He swears he can bullseye targets at four kilometers, and with practice I should be able to as well. If you can set up… I don't know, a bullseye on a float or something out on the water for me to practice on? Probably be able to make some kind of PR thing out of it. A chance for the public to watch a Ward train, maybe answer a few questions and sign some autographs when I'm done. Can't imagine any reason anyone could shoot that down." It was a smaller concession, and I was hoping that phrasing it like a regular PR stunt would make it metaphorically cheaper.

Legend rubbed at his chin but nodded. "Glenn will probably love that idea. But really? four kilometers with a bow and arrow?"

"He hasn't lied to me yet." I replied with a shrug. "Though if it's like his other skill I'll have to work my way up to that point. Probably be hard enough to hit something at even half a mile at the beginning."

I drummed my fingers on the table going over the rest of my list. "Reimburse my Dad for all the gas he's had to burn making these trips to see me every week. And an escape clause in my contract. That's the last of my demands."

"Reimbursing your father isn't too large of an issue, but I'm not sure what you mean by an escape clause." Legend said cautiously.

"I don't really trust the Protectorate, or the PRT. I'm not even sure I want to trust the Wards after all of this. Being able to walk away with my name and costume if I decide I was wrong to sign up would make me a lot more comfortable with the situation."

Legend didn't say anything at first. He simply rubbed at his temples for a moment. "That... that is a lot to ask for Miss Hebert."

"I'm willing to sign a mountain of NDA's about any identities I might learn, about any procedures or policies, even a provisional one that says I can't go airing my grievances if I do leave. I've just been burned too many times to go into this without an escape plan."

"I can understand that, but even with those promises it would still be asking a lot."

"It's better for you than the alternative." I said levelly.

"And what's the alternative?"

"I come up with a backup plan of my own and retain the legal right to declare every issue I might have with all three organizations if I do get pushed too far. Well except for the Shadow Stalker bullshit. I suppose you already got me to sign an NDA about that."

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Dad grinning. We had talked a bit about my game plan for that last one and he was particularly impressed by my rather vicious idea.

"That is, dangerously close to blackmail, Miss Hebert." Legend said neutrally.

"I could always try to sue the PRT and Protectorate? Given my current grievances I'd bet I could get one hell of an out of court settlement. More than enough for some specialty materials to make my own costume, could probably see about founding my own team from there. Maybe work more closely with local police departments. See about finding a way to get capes deputized. Give the police the kind of back up they would need to really go head to head with the gangs? Would also mean capes could finally responding to lethal force with lethal force. I'm willing to bet just that would get me a lot of recruits."

Legend's mouth actually hung open. "I, there are a lot of laws preventing-"

"Parahuman law is an absolute mess full of contradictions and loopholes, or so I'm told." I cut him off. "A few very passionate speeches talking about how much more of a difference capes could make if they weren't hamstrung to whip up public support, a few conversations with some open minded politicians, a promise for law enforcement oversight, and I think you would find laws changing rather rapidly."

This was something Shirou and I had only come up with a few days ago as a backup plan. It was a longshot as long as the Endbringers were still a thing. When they showed up you needed everyone you could get. But really even with them out there I would just have to find a city that was more worried about the immediate threat then the possible eventuality. Brockton Bay being a prime example.

"You certainly don't do things by halves do you, Miss Hebert?"

I shrugged and gave Legend a vicious little smile.

"I can't promise you the last one." He said after a moment. "But I will bring it up with a few legal experts when I get back to base. I can promise you everything else I offered and your other demands. Is that enough for you to provisionally agree for now?"

I closed my eyes and mulled it over. Part of me was sure that if I didn't get him to agree to it now I never would. Still if they didn't agree my back up plan threat would still be open to me. I could live with it. Finally, I glanced over at Dad. He chewed at his lip for a moment before nodding. With an explosive sigh I looked back at Legend.

"Ok."

Legend nodded solemnly and favored me with a small smile. "If you are up for it, we could move you in tomorrow. Finish up all the legal requirements and get you settled?" I didn't really want to. I wanted to go home for a week and sleep in my own bed for the first time in months… But I didn't want to give their lawyers any extra time to argue down my demand for an escape clause.

"Only if Dad can be there with me." I declared firmly.

"I already booked a hotel room nearby for the night so I could pick you up first thing in the morning. I could drive us into the city tomorrow. Once we have things squared away... we can see the sights? Make a day of it?"

"... I'd really like that, yeah."

"Then it's settled. I look forward to working with you in the future Miss Hebert." Legend stood and offered me his hand.

It felt a bit like making a deal with the devil, but I shook it anyway. After Legend left, I reached out and pulled Dad into a hug. Things were moving so fast now and after months of no progress whatsoever and the entire meeting had been draining in the extreme.

Dad's arms wrapped around me as he returned the hug. "I'm so proud of you, Taylor."

I grunted something back and just buried my head further into his shoulder.

"I know it isn't what we were expecting. In some ways it was better and in a lot of ways it was worse." Dad murmured as he rubbed the back of my head in soothing circles. "But you kept your head and rolled with the punches. We'll make this work, Taylor. I promise."

I just held him tighter.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Ok serious time here. Word of Wildbow is that Lily also known as Flechette was a member of New York's Lancer Wards team. That being the team that can patrol by rooflines or fly. I'm going to toss that right out the window. Her method of travel revolved entirely around leaving lengths of chain hanging from or connecting buildings and burying Darts into them. I cannot see people being happy about that, at all. She is, on the other hand 17 and likely old enough to ride their weird railway line bikes to get places. Which I also think is insane but a more believable insane. Honestly don't know what Wildbow was thinking when he came up with some of this stuff, but I'm leaning towards something along the lines of 'wouldn't it be cool if…' So, I am going to be taking liberties with the barely fleshed out and horribly awkward New York wards situation. I've also tracked down what is an apparently regularly updating map of gang territories set up by Daily News which I will be using for inspiration. I think I'll actually be including several small time gangs with possibly no parahumans at all. So many of these gang names are cringe worthy so don't be surprised if something as dumb or dumber than Azian Bad Boys shows up. It might actually be real world street gang.**

 **Further, yes, I know Taylor is sharing more information than Shirou would like, but these are her teammates, and she is only telling them about her basic capabilities and a few weapons, please remember she has a hell of a lot more than that stored in the unlimited blade works and cooperating with allies is important.**

 **Still don't own Worm or any part of the Fate franchise. Please leave a review if you enjoy the story.**

* * *

"So, new girl?" I did my best to keep any excitement out of my voice. I liked my teammates. Thing was I only had three on my immediate team. And I was always happy to have more people to hang out with. And if I was very lucky… Ahh but that was a long shot. No point it in getting my hopes up so early. Hadn't even met the girl yet.

"Mmm." Jason, also known as Red Hood, and the current leader of the New York Wards Siege squad hummed an affirmative from where he was walking a few steps ahead of me. "I didn't get many details, just that she had signed up yesterday and would be sleeping here on base. Though they did tell me they weren't sure if she would be a permanent fixture or not. Something about a trial run and unusual circumstances. I've been meaning to read her file, but I haven't had a chance yet." He said, running a hand through his short black hair.

Well that sucked, but if anyone knew about getting shuffled from one Wards team to another it was me. Still sounded like there was a chance she would stay on.

Daniela, better known to the masses as Phantom, hip checked me lightly and shot me a teasing grin as she stepped ahead to press a kiss against Jason's cheek. The petite blonde spun to smile at both of us as she stepped backwards and phased through the door to the ready room.

Jason sighed as he presented an eye for the retinal scanner. "Going to have to talk with her about not doing that again. Especially with a new face around that isn't used to her." The warning buzzer sounded. "Last thing we need is a fight between teammates because she phased through a bedroom wall, again."

"Mmm, but she has been pretty good about personal boundaries the past few months." It was even true. Dani was nice enough, but for some reason the concept of privacy just didn't seem to exist for her. Jason didn't really care, which was a good part of why the two of them worked as a couple, but he did his job as leader and made sure to keep her in check for the rest of us.

Jason only hummed in response. Surprisingly when the door opened Dani was still there waiting for us bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. That was a bit of a surprise. I'd expected her to shoot off in search of our new member.

A moment after walking in though I ground to a halt. Our ready room usually smelled like a gym locker room and old pizza boxes. Evidently the new girl had aired the place out, and decided our usual quality of food didn't cut it because the whole place smelled _fantastic_.

"Shirou, would you _please_ stop bitching?" A voice I didn't recognize spoke from the direction of our kitchen slash dining room. "I get it, your best dishes are all Japanese. They're what you have the most practice with, and what you grew up eating. But Japan got its teeth kicked in by Leviathan, and even if they didn't oversea shipping has dropped to almost nothing. There're barely any ingredients imported from _anywhere._ Even if I knew where to look for specialty ingredients, what little does make it here it would all be way out of my price range."

"I thought we were only getting one new member?" I asked quietly.

"We are." Jason's voice had that deadly serious quality that meant he was in full blown leader mode. The voice that let you know if it came down to you or following regulations there was every chance of some enemy getting more injured than PR would be happy about. A series of hand gestures later and Dani and I fell in behind him. I fished out one of my throwing darts as we moved.

"Look at it this way, Shirou, now you get to master all new types of recipes. And come on, my Mom's Lasagna recipe was already amazing. Though the trick with structural analysis makes it stupidly easy to get the herbs and spices just right."

Lasagna? That's what I was smelling? Damn, I hoped this turned out to be nothing serious because I really wanted to try some of that. If it tasted half as good as it smelled we needed to make a concentrated effort to keep this girl around.

"Honestly, I'm just happy to be having actual home cooked food again. It's been _months._ It'll be nice to make a good first impression for once too."

I had just enough time to wonder why it had been months since she had home cooked food before we all slipped into the kitchen. We were just in time to see the person who was presumably our new member pull a full pan of lasagna out of the oven. She gave a startled little yelp when she turned around and saw us all standing there, but thankfully did not drop the dish of lasagna. She hurried to set the food down on the counter right next to a basket stacked high with cheesy garlic bread, and a plate of apple slices.

She was tall, really tall; five eleven, maybe even six foot. She had long lean runners' legs that connected to a slim waist, both were highlighted by a pair of tight fitting blue jeans. Her light grey t-shirt was loose around the waist and not overly flattering but didn't hide the fact the girl was an a-cup with the kind of shoulders I'd normally see on a swimmer. Her arms showed some solid muscle tone too. She had an expressive mouth, brown eyes, lightly tanned skin, and beautiful long black hair that curled lightly, seemingly at random. Though one lock of hair on the left side of her face seemed to be going white at the roots, but it had only grown out about an inch in that color.

With a little huff the girl reached up and pulled out a set of earbuds I hadn't noticed before. "Jeez, didn't hear you all come in."

"Who were you talking with just now?" Jason asked still using his scary leader voice.

"So much for making a good first impression." The girl muttered looking imploringly at the ceiling. "I take it you haven't read my file yet?"

Jason shook his head but didn't take his eyes off the new girl.

"I'm the very first, and so far only, of what the PRT has labeled case 70's. My power came with the previous owner still attached, and he's had to teach me how to use it." The new girl actually turned her back on us as she went rooting around for plates and silverware. "Before any of you ask, because I know you are going to, no I'm not like the Butcher. No, I am not crazy. And no, I am not suffering from some kind of Master effect. I actually demanded they put a note acknowledging all that in my file as a condition for joining."

Jason relaxed a bit and pulled out his phone presumably to open up our new capes file.

"So, you were talking to the guy who had your power before you?" Dani asked dropping her guard and jumping onto a stool at the kitchen island.

"Yeah, Shirou. He's a pretty cool guy." Glancing over her shoulder the new girl noticed Dani's eyes glued onto the food and grabbed a second plate. Then paused and proffered it in my direction while making eye contact.

Nodding I put my dart away and claimed my own seat.

The girl glanced at Jason, but he was absorbed in his reading so she simply shrugged and scooped up fourth plate. A moment later Jason was the only one not savoring cheesy goodness.

"This is delicious!" I honestly meant it too. It was easily the best lasagna I'd had in months. Way better than Dad's recipe. Not that I'd seen much of him in recently, let alone his cooking.

"Thanks. I'm Taylor by the way."

"Lily, that's Daniela-"

"Call me Dani!" The girl chirped.

"-and Jason. Fred should be here in about a half hour."

"Only five of us?" Taylor asked. "I thought the team would be bigger. Brockton Bay has more Ward's than this."

"We're just the Siege team. New York actually has four other teams of Wards and ours is usually on the small side." Jason supplied without looking up from Taylor's file. Though he was managing to get garlic bread into his mouth regardless.

"Right!" Dani cheered. "We're the ones old enough to ride the rails, and who pack enough of a punch to do some real damage. Like siege engines! Were a bit slow, but once we get there, BAM!" She clapped her hands to emphasize the point.

Taylor nodded seriously. "What about the other teams?"

"Lancers are the fast responders." I picked up the conversation. "Flight, super speed, teleporters, stuff like that. Then there's us. After that you've got Army. They're the ones too young to ride the railway bikes, or without the kind of speed or power needed for Lancer or Siege. They get stuck with foot patrols mostly. Then you have the PR team, though that's more of a punishment detail, and… well we all call it the club house. It's for the kids under thirteen. They get training and sometimes do ride alongs with a Protectorate member, but that's about it."

"So I really will get to see some fighting." Taylor seemed to perk up. "With how things have been going I thought they might have just been humoring me."

"Why would you think that?" Dani asked beating me to the punch.

"Because she's got the patience of a saint, and the bosses still nearly used it all up." Jason said, flipping his phone face down on the table. "Three months? I'd have blown my way out of the building and made a run for it after the third week." Jason gave Taylor a respectful glance before digging into his food. Then the respectful look turned almost worshipful as he wolfed down the rest.

"Three months?" I prompted lightly.

"It's how long it took me to convince everyone that I wasn't crazy or mastered." Taylor's tone practically begged for us to just drop the subject.

...That was impressive. Jason wasn't kidding. I'd been in Master Stranger confinement a few times over the years. I was always climbing the walls after a few hours. For Taylor to put up with anything like that for months and not try to break out was really impressive. Though if she always had someone to talk to in her head that must have made things easier.

"So, what do you do?" Dani asked through a bite of pasta.

Taylor held up her right hand face up and a butterfly knife formed resting there. With a grin she started spinning and flicking the blade in a series of tricks. With a final flourish she tossed the blade into the air where it dissolved into particles of light.

"I make weapons. I can fire them like bullets, and I'm pretty good at using them the normal way too. I can make myself stronger and faster and sort of reinforce simple things. I've also got a bunch of really special weapons… most of which I've been ordered to never use."

"Why's that?" Jason asked. Evidently, he'd gotten as far as the note in her file and stopped reading, or the file was incomplete. Given how he was digging into his food I was betting on the former.

"Too lethal. Some of my stuff is non lethal, but a lot of it…"

"Can you give us some examples?" I pushed my empty plate aside and leaned forward. Would it be rude to ask for seconds?

Taylor projected a simple blade with a small red grip and cross guard. "If I stab someone's shadow with one of these they'll get locked in place. This they don't mind me using." The weapon dissolved. Then, noticeably slower, she conjured up a red spear. "Got to work on that. This is still taking way too long…" She shook her head. "This thing is my theoretical go to if I ever have to fight a Brute because it _should_ cut through or ignore most power granted methods to avoid injury. Though I don't think it will work so well against breaker states." Taylor shrugged. "It's about the most dangerous thing I could convince them to let me use. Everything past that boils down to explosions, stupidly powerful blasts, and things that essential say 'you are going to die, _because I said so_.'"

"Seriously?" Dani asked. She had scooched back a bit until the red spear dissolved into light. She was very proud of her ability to ghost through attacks. I guess finding something that might hurt her regardless was a bit unnerving.

"I've got a spear which takes the act of me trying to stab someone as justification that they have already been stabbed through the heart." Taylor deadpanned.

"That's… really?" I couldn't help but ask.

"According to Shirou, and the understanding my power gives me. I haven't exactly had a reason to test it out."

"Well, I can see why they put you on Siege squad." Jason said with a grin. "We all have too much power for our own good, so you'll fit right in."

Taylor nodded and a bit of tension I hadn't even noticed went out of her shoulders as she smiled. It was a pretty nice smile.


	8. Side Story Ch 1

**AN: This is a side story/sequel. Not sure this is the personality Taylor will end up with once Shirou is fully subsumed it's more teasing then sarcastic which isn't what I had planned. On the other hand as far as she's concerned this is relatively low stakes so far. This will update less frequently than the regular story. I'm aiming for an update or two for every story arc though that may change at random.**

 **I wanted to give you all a heads up that I'm going to be working on several rewrites of the previous chapters, so don't be surprised if the updates slow down for a bit. When I complete the rewrites I'll post updated versions of the changed posts and I'll post all the rewrites as their own post for anyone who would rather just know what changed without having to reread the entire story.**

 **Still don't own Worm, or any part of the Fate franchise. Please remember to leave a review if you enjoy the story.**

 **The Holy Grail War Episode 1**

* * *

 _"My will creates your body, your sword creates my destiny."_

Hmm now what could that be.

 _"If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me."_

Well I'll be damned. The Holy Grail War. Shirou had mentioned it a few times, but I never thought I would be summoned to one. Still… Could be fun. I had wondered how I would stack up against the heroes of legend.

 _"I hereby swear… That I shall be all the good in the world. That I shall defeat all evil in the world. You seven heavens, clad in three great words of power, come forth from the circle of binding… Guardian of the scales!"_ Alright then. With an oath like that, how could I say no?

And then I fell from the ceiling and landed on a bookshelf….

"Well… this is off to an interesting start." I leaned back a little and crossed my legs. Huh, not a half bad chair.

I didn't have to wait long before a girl burst into the room. She was young, probably in her second or third year of high school. She wore a red long sleeve shirt, a short black skirt, and long black stockings. She wore her long black hair as twin tails. Cute. Too young for me, but then I was already taken anyway. Seeing me seemed to give her a bit of a breakdown as she started muttering to herself and even went so far as to crouch down and turn away from me… If this was supposed to be my Master, she really wasn't making the best first impression.

Glancing up at me from where she was crouched on the floor she finally spoke up and actually directed a question at me instead of just talking to herself.

"Well? What are you supposed to be?" She asked sullenly.

"I'm really more a of a who, you know?" I snarked, raising one eyebrow. "Which does make me wonder, what kind of master manages to summon their servant into a different room, and a few feet off the ground as well?" My other eyebrow joined the first and I let myself grin ever so slightly.

"I meant, what kind of servant are you supposed to be." The girl asked with a stubborn sort of pout as she stood back up.

"Mmm, well, I'm the Archer class servant." I grinned. "Though to be honest I'm rather good with just about any sort of weapon. My biggest advantage was always being adaptable."

"Noooo." The girl, my master, whined. Genuinely whined like a little kid as she held her hands to her head.

This? This is who I was supposed to follow into battle? I was about her age, maybe a bit younger, when I first got into the hero business, but I'd like to think I'd been more mature than how she was acting… ok so my poor abused dart board might not agree with me. Regardless for all that it could be lethal we had never referred to cape business as a war. Then again perhaps we should have. Was she really ready for this?

"How did you even summon me?" I asked. "My dimension didn't have any mages, and I know we didn't have contact with any earths that did. So how did you get a catalyst to summon me with?"

"I didn't use a catalyst." She answered absently.

Well… I mean, I suppose that could have worked. But really? Out of all the heroic spirits out there, I somehow got the chance to play? My luck was never that good. No there had to be something else going on here.

"Tohsaka!" The kid was tall for his age, with short spiky red hair. Behind him came a servant. A short blonde, female, but I had a hard time guessing her age. She wore a blue outfit that was a cross between ballroom dress and armor.

Well… that simplified things. I moved. In an eyeblink I was between my Master and the new arrivals. Not enough room to fight with my spear comfortably. I could trace a sword, but I never had quite taken to them the way sensei had. Besides the other woman's ready stance screamed swords woman, even if I couldn't see her blade. Why give her home field advantage? That really only left me with one option.

I drew the thin black knife from where it rested across my back with my right hand. I crouched down low, feet ready to propel me in any direction. My left hand back and out of the way.

"Don't suppose we could take this outside, could we?" I asked with my best rueful grin. "I'd really prefer my spear if I can't use a bow to snipe. And it would be safer to not fight in the same room as our masters."

"Well…" She started to respond, her grin was just a tad smug and her eyes danced with excitement.

"Wait!"

"Stop!"

"Eh?" The other Servant and I questioned in stereo.

"You two don't need to fight one another." My master said.

"Right, Tohsaka and I are allies in this thing." The red head chipped in.

I straightened up and relaxed my stance, though I didn't put my knife away just yet. The other servant followed suit.

"Seriously? You two are in this together?" I looked the boy up and down before grinning. "Not a bad catch, Master." I teased. "Is he any good, or just a handsome face?"

My Master spluttered for a moment before responding. "Emiya is lousy at most forms of magecraft." She declared imperiously, tossing her hair back. "But he's a decent fighter and has at least average reserves."

"Wait, Emiya?" My head whipped away from my Master to focus on the red head. My joke about the kid's bedroom performance utterly forgotten. Hadn't sensei once said red was his original hair color? "Shirou Emiya?" The boy nodded. "No way!" I smiled wide and cheery as I finally sheathed my knife. Well that would be the catalyst used to summon me then. "This means I get to meet young, naive, Shirou! Before he goes off on some damn fool idealistic crusade like his father did?" Come oooon, take the bait.

"Wait, you knew my father?" He asked, wide eyed.

Star Wars reference complete! "Nah, just heard a little about him from sensei." I said with a grin.

"Who exactly was this sensei of yours, Archer?" My Master demanded.

Archer huh? That could take some getting used to. Turning to face her fully I hitched a thumb up over my shoulder to point at baby sensei. "An older version of your boyfriend who took a deal from Alaya and become a Counter Guardian. He got slowly subsumed by me over months to make me some sort of demi servant and pass on his abilities. He really enjoyed the whole super hero gig while it lasted."

""…WHAT?!"" The two masters shouted in stereo and caused me to clamp my hands over my ears.

"...Right. The long version then… We are going to need tea, and probably some snacks." I rubbed at my temples. This was going to be a headache, I could tell already.

My highly abbreviated story completed, I settled for leaning back and nursing my tea.

"You were actually an ally of justice?!"

"Shirou develops a Reality Marble?!"

"Yes." Really, I was only a government sanctioned hero for a bit, then was my stint as a vigilante and then well… it had been a hell of a ride.

"Taylor Hebert." My fellow servant spoke much more calmly. Her expression laser focused on me. "One of the lovers who can kill all things."

I inclined my head with a grin. "And unless what little sensei told me is wrong… You would be Arturia Pendragon, the King of Knights."

At her nod I didn't even bother to fight down a laugh. "Oh, this is going to be _fun."_ Just so long as she never saw what I did to her sword… then again… maybe when we were the last servants standing. Even if it got me killed, I'd bet anything her reaction would be _amazing_.

"Do you know who the other enemy servants will be?" Rin asked.

"Hmmm not for certain, infinite universes and all that. Besides sensei didn't really talk about the Grail War much. Mostly just complained about how naive his younger self could be." I grinned a little at baby sensei. Wonder if he would be easier or harder to tease? Going by his mildly offended look I was betting on easier.

"Can you teach me?" Baby sensei asked, looking stupidly determined.

"Can I… it's a life's work, hell it's several life's work." I shot back incredulously. "I don't know how long it took him to fully develop his Reality Marble, but he spent years creating his own sword style and fully mastering his magecraft." I shook my head. "I might be able to coach you in the basics, but this war won't last nearly long enough for me to teach you all that. And even if it did, I don't fight the way he did."

Shirou looked a bit put out but still determined. My master on the other hand looked thoughtful.

"What if it could last long enough?" Rin asked.

"...How?" I asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"The Holy Grail helps support the servants, and the war lasts until there is only one servant left. In theory so long as both you and Saber survive…"

"Then the war will continue indefinitely. I could take the time required to teach him as much as I can, and then we could finish the war at our leisure." I finished the thought and leaned back drumming my fingers along my cup. "Hell, why not. In the meantime, get me some paper and I'll start writing down what I know."

"Why not start teaching me now?" Shirou asked seriously. Even as Rin stood and grabbed up a pad and pen.

I shrugged. "Sure, but it's still smart to write this stuff down. I'm damn good at what I do, but I've always done my best work at range. Up close things can get _dicey,_ and everyone who has been summoned is going to be just as good or better."

Rin passed me a legal pad and a pen but Saber spoke up before I could start writing.

"I have a question I must ask of you all." Saber stated with intense calm as she placed her cup down with a click. "Why do all of you seek the grail?"

"I'm just participating to help Tohsaka, and to try and prevent casualties." Shirou said with a careless shrug. That sounded about right.

"My family has been trying to win the grail war for generations." Rin proudly declared. Her hip was thrust out to the side and her face an imperious mask of superiority as she crossed her arms. "I want to win for them."

I had to wonder if that really was it for her, but I shrugged it off for now. "Honestly? There's a few things I could wish for, but I wouldn't risk everything I accomplished trying to change them now." I traced my butterfly knife and fell into the familiar rhythm of spins and flicks. "I'm getting my wish just by competing. I always wondered how I would stack up against heroes of myth and legend." My grin took on a vicious edge.

My Legend was so new, and unknown outside a bare handful of earths. And to most of those I was only a secondhand story. I hadn't earned my power the same way others had. I'd been given a massive leg up and ran with it. I'd worked hard to make the absolute most of it, to make it my own. But it was all inherited, borrowed, or stolen. I'd fought so many enemies with such varied abilities, but rarely if ever did I face opponents with the speed, strength, and skill of heroic spirits.

In some ways that made the coming fights seem easy, but in others it made it hard. I also wasn't working with near infinite energy the way I was used to. Here I was limited to what my master could supply. Further complicating things Gaia would not be so accepting of my forgeries now. They would be weaker than I was used to.

I chuckled lightly as I gave my knife a small toss before flicking it shut and placing it down. "This should be a hell of a fight. But what about you, Saber? What do you want?"

The blonde was silent for a moment as if lost deep in thought. "I want to change how things ended. I want to save my country."

Shirou and Rin didn't seem to have any issues with that. Truth be told neither did I, but I wasn't really sure it was worth it either. Great Britain had its time as a world power, it's ups and downs, it's goods and evils. Changing something so far back in the past… It might change nothing. Or it might change things on a global scale. I wasn't really sure which thought was worse. That was the whole reason I didn't want to wish to change things. What if I made a mis step and screwed up everything else in the process? I couldn't risk that. I wouldn't risk that.

"So, what are we doing?" I asked, propping my left leg over my right knee. "Are we going out on patrols? Bunkering down and fortifying? Training montage with baby sensei over there for a few weeks until he can actually contribute something? Blowing the enemy away from four kilometers out and cackling like super villains as they die? I'm really good at that last one, though my cackle is pretty rusty." I gave the group my best toothy grin.

The two Masters didn't seem at all phased by my suggestions, but Saber seamed rather offended at the idea of killing the other heroic spirits without giving them a chance to fight back.

"We can't afford to give the other masters time to prepare." Rin calmly began. "Or rather we can't afford to give Caster time to prepare. Casters are always most dangerous when they have time to fortify and prepare."

Same concepts as if I was fighting a Tinker or Shaker then. Don't give them prep time to stack the deck.

Arturia nodded seriously. "Do we know who the enemy caster is, or where they might be based?"

"I'm afraid not." Rin shook her head.

"Might be Medea. Pretty sure sensei got Rule Breaker in a Grail war." I offered. "But he never mentioned any locations. Guess that means we're doing foot patrols." I rubbed at my chin. "Always hated that part of the job. Sometimes you get lucky, but more often than not you end up on the wrong side of the city."

"It also means we may run into other servants as we search." Saber pointed out.

"Right then. I need two leather jackets, some silver wire, and we need a place to teach _you_ some basics." I pointed at baby sensai.

"Eh?" He blinked. "What do you mean?"

"And why do you need those materials?" Rin asked narrow eyed.

"A rune enhanced leather jacket is shit armor, but it's better than nothing, and probably the best we can manage on such short notice. It won't save you from a Servant, but it might do some good against a Master. And if you're going to get involved in this shit," I spoke while looking directly at Shirou. "that means you're going to be fighting at melee range or with a bow. Either way, Saber and I should take the chance to pound some extra skill into that thick head of yours."

Rin looked thoughtful before nodding her head decisively. "We can use Shirou's house as our base then. He has a dojo there you can use. We can see about getting a pair of jackets on the way over. I think I have some silver wire somewhere…" Rin trailed off as she left the room. Nodding decisively, I went back to jotting down notes. Saber, looking thoughtful, poured herself another cup of tea and set to devouring even more of the snacks Shirou had laid out.

"What?! Hey, Tohsaka, what do you mean, 'use my house as a base'? You can't just decide to move in like that!" Shirou's voice faded as he went running off after my Master.

I chuckled lightly. "Those two are adorable. Wonder if he even knows she wants him?"

"You are a rather crass individual." Saber said, glancing at me only out of the corner of her eye.

"Ahh lighten up, Saber. I'm only teasing. Besides, they're teenagers about to jump into life and death conflict. Would be a real shame if they died virgins don't you think?" I gave her my best shameless grin.

Saber only gave a huff and turned back to devouring her snacks. Oh, this was just too much fun. Why were they all so easy to tease?

"Hmm did you maybe want a shot at him yourself?" I asked as innocently as I could just as she took a sip of her drink. Watching the heroic spirit of Arturia Pendragon do a spit take was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. My laughter filled the entire house.


	9. Side Story Ch 2

**AN: Not really sure about this one to be completely honest, but whatever. This is just something short I whipped up to wash the taste of rewrites out of my mouth and address (sort of) the issue of if Alaya would actually be willing to give up Emiya as a Counter Guardian. Don't expect any more of this sidestory until I've had a chance to at least rewatch the anime and if I'm being honest I should really look into reading the visual novel. My grasp on Shirou, Rin, and Saber as characters is not as strong as I would like if I'm really going to do this. Don't own Worm, Don't own Fate. Please leave a review if you enjoy the story.  
**

 **{}{}{}{}**

"Hmm, nice sleepwear." I commented casually only glancing at my master as I worked the needle through her new leather jacket. The material was sturdy so I actually needed to reinforce the needle to make the process manageable.

The chair I'd claimed was the only seat in the rather plain guest room. Well plain by my American standards. I had no idea what was considered normal by Japan. Just a futon, chair, desk and closet.

Rin's startled little shriek made me chuckle lightly.

"Archer!" She hissed, hands going to her hips as she glared. The motion caused her cream colored night shirt to ripple lightly.

"Starting to see why Dani never bothered with doors, or knocking." I mused aloud. "This whole astral form thing is surprisingly fun." I grinned.

Rin doubled down on her glare. "What do you want, Archer?"

I hummed thoughtfully as I tied off the end of the rune I had been stitching and set the jacket down on the rooms desk. "I've been trying to remember anything Sensei ever mentioned about the grail war, and what little I can get from the weapons he left me." I spoke seriously. "Cu Chulainn is most likely Lancer, Heracles as Berserker, and Medea as Caster. He never mentioned Rider or Assassin in any detail. But there is one thing that never made sense to me. Sensei ran into Gilgamesh during the grail war, but never mentioned his class. Just called him a raging ass hole."

Rin calmed down quickly and started to pace the room. "Can you defeat them?" She finally asked seriously.

I shrugged and leaned back in my seat. "I honestly don't know, Master. No battle is ever a sure thing. Find me the Masters and I could eliminate them easily. That would be a death sentence for the servants and the safest for you and baby Sansei."

"But finding the Master could be even more difficult than finding the Servants." She quickly deduced.

I nodded and shot my Master a pleased smile. "Exactly. Normally I wouldn't entertain the idea of killing otherwise innocent people, but this is called a war and to the best of my knowledge most of the participants treat it as one. Right now, keeping you alive takes priority."

I didn't like it. I hadn't shied away from killing, but I had always tried to limit it to the most dangerous and extreme enemies. Going straight to lethal against selfish fools who jumped into a death match left a bad taste in my mouth. But Rin was my responsibility and I at least knew she wouldn't do something as stupid as involving civilians. She was under my protection. I wouldn't hesitate to keep her safe.

"Assuming those are the Servants that have been summoned for this Grail War there are a few things to watch out for. Lancer's Noble Phantasm can bend time and space to stab its target in the heart. Keep your distance, its range is limited. Medea's Noble Phantasm is a knife called Rule Breaker. Master or Servant, if she cuts either the contract will be severed… and I have no idea what to expect from Berserker other than a high end Brute."

"Brute?" Rin asked raising one eyebrow. "Don't you think that much is obvious given their class?"

"Ah, Brute is a power classification from my earth. It's used to describe anyone with superhuman strength or durability."

"Ahh." She murmured making a small 'o' of realization.

"Mmm, still there was something else I wanted to talk to you about." I said seriously.

Rin stepped back and crossed her arms across her chest as she leaned against the wall opposite me. "What's that?"

"You're interested in Shirou." I said plainly. Rin blushed and opened her mouth to object but I waved her off. "Don't get self conscious on my account, Master. Just… look I was trained by a version of that boy who went on to become a Counter Guardian, and it was his own brand of hell."

Rin settled down to listen to me carefully.

"Now, when dealing with the Root time gets… ugh, subjective, fluid, something. Forget it, the point is causality can be a mess when heroic spirits are involved. Just my being here is a good example."

Rin nodded thoughtfully. "Because you were trained by a Shirou Emiya who had lived through the Grail War, grown up, and then died." She analyzed.

"And then spent several eternities being used to wipe out targets Alaya designated with short breaks on a few occasions where he was summoned by versions of yourself to compete in other Holy Grail Wars. Now, when I first met sensei he told me being subsumed was going to finally release him from Alaya's control. A permanent death at long last."

Rin looked up sharply as she realized that Sensei had been looking for death.

I nodded confirmation to the conclusion she had obviously drown. "At the time I didn't know enough to question what he was telling me. But now I have a couple of concerning theories. He could have only been a copy and the true, full Heroic Spirit is still in the Throne of Heroes where Alaya continues to call on him as needed." I hated that possibility but, in some ways, it made the most sense. Though whether the copy would have known it wasn't the original or not was up for debate. "Or it could be that Alaya was willing to give up a Counter Guardian because she knew there were still other versions of Shirou she could attempt to ensnare." I said levelly.

Rin rocked back on her heels as she paled dramatically. "You think Shirou might…" She trailed off seemingly unable to complete the thought.

I nodded decisively. "It's entirely possible that Alaya might try to sink her hooks into this version of Shirou and ensnare him as a replacement for her lost Counter Guardian. Or as another separate counter Guardian, or as a slightly different version to be added to the collective of however many Shirou Emiya's may have been tempted into making a deal with her." I waved a hand through the air and huffed. The whole topic was stupidly frustrating for me because I knew so little about how this nonsense actually worked and couldn't even confirm or disprove any of my theories.

"The fact that you have been coaching him and that I can teach him specifically how to use his magecraft means he would be well on his way to reaching his full potential. And you saw how he reacted to my story. He just latched onto the fact I was a Superhero like it was the most amazing thing in the world. He could easily end up following in Sensei's footsteps."

"That's…" She trailed of and bit at the tip of her thumb obviously trying to think through the implications.

"If you don't want to lose that boy to his crazy dream," I began seriously as I leaned forward looking Rin in the eye, "then I would start planning. Drag him to a psychiatrist, and keep dragging him back until they put his head on straight. Get him to knock you up and make damn sure that he knows he isn't allowed to run off and play hero when there is a little life depending on him." Rin's blush was nuclear and I smirked lightly for a moment before my expression went back to its deadly serious visage. "Engineer an accident and blow off one of his feet so he's forced to give up his dream, then stick him in a restaurants kitchen where he'll be happy and safe." Honestly, I wasn't serious about that last one, but from what Sensei had told me about his younger self that might be what it took.

I leaned back in the chair and shrugged. "He's his own worst enemy. I don't know how far you would be willing to go, but if you're serious about him then you need to understand he is on a course to self destruct unless something forces him to change. I don't know if he would be happy with a life where he couldn't chase that dream, it's a huge part of who he is. But I would hate to see him trapped like sensei was."

Rin didn't say anything for a while she just stood there worrying at her thumb as her blush slowly faded. "Archer?"

"Yes, Master."

"I need time to think."

Nodding I stood. "Your jacket is finished, Master. I'll finish the second and take up watch. Call me if you need anything."

"I will, and Archer!"

"Mmm?"

"No maiming Shirou!"

I chuckled. "Of course, Master." I grinned cheekily as I started to fade. "I'll just go poke holes in all his condoms then."

"Archer!"


	10. Chapter 8

**Right! Sorry for the delay everyone real life got rather busy and writing had to take a back seat. I know a few people want me to completely set aside the side story/sequel of Taylor in the Grail War until the main story is complete. To answer that I can only say I don't know what I intend to do with it yet. The main reason I wanted those first two posts of it done was for the conversation between Taylor and Rin about the possibilities surrounding Taylor absorbing Counter Guardian Shirou Emiya. It was the last major Fate plot hole that needed to be addressed. Granted, I didn't actually give a concrete answer about what happened there, but I did outline several possibilities which should placate the fans who insisted Alaya would never give up one of her Counter Guardians.**

 **Now that it's out of the way there is less of a need to add to the sequel. I may set it aside until the main story is done or I may do what I originally intended and give it an update or two every time I finish a story arc. We'll see how I feel about it when I get to the end of this arc.**

 **Still don't own anything but my car. Hope you all enjoy! Please leave a review if you like the story!**

* * *

 **{}{}{}{} After Diner.**

I sank slowly onto one of the couches and pulled out the Wards combat manual. I'd started reading it earlier but only read maybe half. So far, I wasn't very impressed. The book wasn't about tactics at all. Not even stupidly generic ones. It made some sense. Parahuman powers were too diverse and unpredictable for there to be any kind of standard team formations and strategies, but it didn't even try.

No, the whole manual was a hodgepodge of regulations, instructions on after action reports, and descriptions of what kind of situations Wards were allowed to intervene in. It also constantly reiterated the fact that we were not required to take part in combat. Even more infuriating it insisted we speak with our team leader to find out if any capes in our area had a blanket retreat order. Granted, I'd lived in the same town as Lung, Hookwolf, and Oni-Lee. I _got it_. Some capes would kill you without batting an eye, and they wanted to keep kids away from those types. It still rubbed me the wrong way. If it was fight or let someone die, I knew what choice I would make. My conscience wouldn't let me walk away if there was something I could do.

There was a lot of attention given to the idea of acceptable verses excessive force. It was… honestly it was ridiculous. 'Demand the villains surrender prior to taking any action unless failure to act would put someone at risk of injury or worse.' I understood we were supposed to be law enforcement and all that, but, really? Giving away my position and the element of surprise is supposed to be standard procedure? Yeah, no.

The PRT's idea of excessive force was almost as bad. Broken bones are excessive. Serious lacerations are excessive. The list went on to include a bunch of other more esoteric injuries but the general idea was they wanted us to somehow subdue villains as nonviolently as possible. But of course, we weren't allowed to carry tasers or containment foam unless we happened to be a tinker. Because kids carrying any kind of weapon when it wasn't directly related to their power gave people the impression of child soldiers.

" _Put people out on the street to stop crime, and then make them do it barehanded against people with guns and worse."_ I mentally groused. _"Is it any wonder capture rates are so low?"_

Shirou hummed back at me. _"True, though the nature of my abilities should give you the wiggle room to do more than get into fist fights."_ He snorted derisively at the idea. I had to agree with the sentiment. I'd put in too much effort getting here to be restricted to punching when I had the Unlimited Blade Works as my armory. _"You should probably finish reading it though. You're expected to meet with the PR team tomorrow. I'm not sure what to expect from them, but knowing more can only help."_

" _Yeah… but maybe this isn't the best source…"_ I trailed off as footsteps coming from the kitchen broke my train of thought.

"Ahh, that thing." Jason's voice was tinged with exasperation.

Glancing over my shoulder I caught the grimace on his face as he eyed my manual like it had personally offended him.

I raised the small book and gave it a little wave as I caught his eye. "Does this thing actually give any good advice?" I asked. "I'm more than halfway through but it hasn't mentioned what kind of situations justify taking off the kiddy gloves. So far, I've just gotten the impression that they'd rather I fight villains with a Nerf sword, or run."

With a sigh Jason plopped down in a chair to my left. "There are three and a half pages near the very end that cover that. They bury the whole thing in a heaping pile of legal mumbo jumbo, and reminders that you are encouraged to run from dangerous situations." He scowled at the little book in my hand. "It all boils down to this though. If your backs to the wall and you think someone intends to kill or maim you? You do whatever you have to do." He looked me dead in the eye as he said it, and his tone of voice brooked no argument.

"If it comes down to that the PR department will do absolutely everything they can to bury it." He growled. "That can include sticking the hero in some out of the way hick town for a few months to let the media circus die down before transferring them to a different city." He shook his head looking absolutely disgusted with the idea. "And they'll put you through the wringer trying to decide if you actually were justified or not. They think you weren't? Your carrier is basically over right then and there."

Jason frowned then shook his head again. "Sorry that got away from me a bit. Look, they will rake you over the coals and give you the third degree if you cross the line. That being said, at the end of the day your safety, the team's safety, and the safety of civilians, is a higher priority than some random villain."

I shook my head slowly trying to rap my mind around the idea. "So, what? If there not shooting at me…" I trailed off as Jason waved a hand back and forth.

"Getting shot at wouldn't cut it as an explanation for 'excessive force'." He groused, actually making the air quotes.

Shirou spluttered in the back of my mind as my jaw dropped.

"People shooting doesn't? Are they out of their minds?!" I shouted.

Lilly and Dani poked their heads out of one of the bed rooms, and Fred, the team's tinker, wandered out of the kitchen carrying a plate of lasagna and chewing on a piece of garlic bread.

"How does getting shot at _not_ rate taking off the kiddy gloves and _at least_ handing out some broken bones?" I growled

"Uh oh." Dani mumbled before she bounced through a wall and back out of sight. Lily looked back and forth between Jason and I before grimacing and edging back through the doorway she'd just exited before slowly closing the door. Fred, mumbled something about tinkering and power walked for the door covered in hazard warning symbols.

Jason sighed and sank back into his chair fully. "Ok. I might have been overstating things. It _would_ justify some broken bones. More than that though? It would take a hell of a lot."

"I'm not bulletproof!" I hissed, waving the manual. "Even if I reinforced myself to the max, I doubt I could stop a piddly little .22 without armor! If someone's shooting at me that's, uhm, assault with a deadly weapon, right? The police shoot back when that happens!"

"I _know."_ He groaned. "Believe me, I do, and I'm not the only one. It's not like this in every city. In Chicago getting shot at is all the justification you need to explain busting heads and breaking bones. And they can't seem to go four months without some villain getting iced. It's the only way to keep the city from imploding. Though they try to transfer the Wards out of there to other cities whenever they can."

"So, what? It's a regional issue?" I honestly didn't get it.

"Sort of?" He shrugged. "The manual is standard. How closely it gets followed depends on who's in charge of the city. Nominally the Wards take orders from the head of the local Protectorate, or whoever they put in charge of us if they're too busy. That being said, the Protectorate team leaders answer to their PRT counterparts. So who we answer to in _practice_ can vary from place to place."

He shifted a bit in his chair. "Here in New York, that's Legend. He's too busy for much direct oversight, but he's the head of the Protectorate as a whole and a member of the Triumvirate besides. Challenging him on Wards policy would be career suicide." Jason stopped and rolled his shoulder. Some kind of nervous tick maybe?

I nodded to show I was following the explanation and motioned for Jason to keep going.

"Legend… don't get me wrong. He's a great guy, and his hearts in the right place, but he doesn't want any of us to be in an us or them situation."

"That's…" It was naive. I'd signed up to be a hero knowing it would happen at some point. Yes, I'd rather take people in nonlethally, hell, nonviolently if I could manage it. But I could guarantee that wouldn't always be possible. To deny it and not prepare for the worst was just… that couldn't possibly make things better when it did inevitably happen.

"I know." Jason grumbled and rubbed at his temples. "The way the Wards are set up here is part of it too. The clubhouse keeps the really little kids out of fights altogether. Army has to hope they stumble across something if they want to do more than just walk around in costume. That or be lucky enough to be close when something does go down. But that just makes him mother hen us and the Lancers all the more. Plus, the head of the PR department is based here, and he's on board with Legend's agenda because us not looking _cuddly_ makes his job harder." Jason waved his hand around as he gave of an aggravated huff.

"Topping off the whole shitshow is the damn Youth Guard. We have a _lot_ of Wards in New York and that makes them pay us extra attention. Wards in a situation where they have to kill someone is all the justification, they need to come down on everyone like a ton of bricks. _Nobody_ wants to deal with their shit."

" _I knew there would be heavy restrictions, but I never imagined they'd be this bad."_ Shirou muttered sounding only a little less exasperated then I felt.

"... You said I'd be able to fight here. That I'd actually be able to do some good… was that a lie, or?" I trailed off not even sure I knew how to properly ask the questions that were still forming in my mind as I struggled to digest the new information.

"We do get our fair share of fights." He reassured. "Not near as often as the Lancers do because people know to book it before backup can arrive and bury them. But trust me, we are not just here to look pretty." He grinned as he delivered that last line. "After all, that's what the PR punishment detail is for."

I huffed out a little half lough as I cracked the smallest of smiles. "Ok, but if that's true what the heck am I supposed to do when people start shooting at me?"

"Get behind cover." He answered promptly. "That's the first thing _you_ do. Then you let me tank the bullets or let Danny draw their fire while ghosting. When the guns are dealt with, we'll give the all clear and you can have your turn."

"That's… I hadn't thought of that." I mumbled abashedly. Up till now I'd never factored a team into any of my strategy sessions with Shirou. It had always just been my abilities. But if I could count on them to handle gunfire for me…

"Sorry, I… Shirou's been the first person I could rely on in… well it's been awhile now." I shook my head before rushing on. This was not a pity party, and I'd be damned if I let my team leader think I was fishing for some. "I know I'm part of a team now, but I'm not used to thinking like that. It's just been 'how could I deal with lots of guns' not 'how can the team deal with them.'" I gave Jason a week grin. "Everything I could come up with on my own either left me pinned down, which is a bad plan, or it would have meant cutting loose, at least a little bit." I shrugged and looked away.

Jason just shot me a comforting smile. "It's ok." He reassured. "You might have had your powers for a little while now, but you haven't had any training with how we do things. We'll get you up to speed."

"Thank you." I said warmly. Jason smiled back before heading off to the room the girls had disappeared into.

" _Guess we still have a lot to learn, Shirou."_

" _Mmm. I suppose we do."_ Shirou answered thoughtfully. _"We knew it would be different from my experiences, but I don't think we quite understood how much so until now."_

I hummed agreeably. _"We'll figure it out though. We've come this far. I'm not about to give up now."_

I could feel Shirou's smirk. _"Good."_ Was all he said before settling into silence as I went back to reading the stupid manual.

 **{}{}{}{}**

 _The air is blisteringly hot. Dry heat, not a touch of humidity. I'm laid out flat on the roof of a building a little way back from the edge with a sniper rifle snug against my shoulder as the noon day sun beats down on my back. All around me were battered buildings in shades of grey and brown. Between the buildings the ground is as much sand as it is dirt. What little grass grows here is all brown and scraggly. All this is seen through my left eye. My right eye is looking through the rifle sight._

 _I'm waiting, watching. Three men wearing cloaks and turbans. Each one is carrying an AK-47. A car pulls up and the men quickly stand at something resembling attention. A fourth man steps out of the back seat of the van, older, with a grey beard, and noticeably better clothes. I make a minor adjustment and take a slow breath. Then pull the trigger. The rifle kicks and the bang of a shot fired pushes harshly against my ears. The older man collapses as a small spray of red coats a bit of the van behind him. The others are turning guns rising. I fire again, and again, and again. The gunmen go down. The van starts moving but I don't have a shot at the driver. Unimportant. The man isn't armed. I let him go. Moving quickly, I sling my rifle over my back and start running._

 **{}{}{}{}**

Gasping I shot up in bed. Frantically I looked around the room before coming back to myself. My room in Siege squad's barracks was plain. I hadn't had the time to customize anything about it yet. Just my bed desk and a small dresser for clothes. But there were little touches that marked it as mine. A half dozen butterfly knives in different color schemes with a mixture of practice and live blades were scattered about the room on various surfaces. My dartboard, the same one I'd been given more than two months ago rested on the wall opposite my bed. It was showing a lot of wear and tear at this point and sported a mixed handful of actual darts, throwing knives, throwing stars, and even a sharpened metal playing card.

With one more explosive sigh I flopped back onto my bed.

" _The dream cycle again?"_ Shirou asked.

"Yeah, looked like the Middle East. Did you use sniper rifles often? That's the first time I've seen you use one." I asked rubbing at my eyes. I'd gotten used to disturbing dreams of Shirou killing people. They usually hit me once or twice a week. But they almost always unnerved me and had me waking up ready to fight for my life, or run. Not fun, but I had gotten used to it.

" _Hmm, when I was alive, I used them often enough. They drew less attention then arrows fired from more than a mile away. After all, anyone, or any faction, can use a sniper. Arrows tended to stand out in the twenty first century."_

"Right, makes sense. Just never really thought of you as one to use anything that couldn't be found on a medieval battlefield." I mumbled as the last vestiges of sleep finally faded.

Shirou didn't bother dignifying that with a response beyond a scoff, so I groaned and rolled out of bed. Might as well get a start on the day. I needed breakfast. I was meeting with the head of the PR department at ten. Why the man wanted to handle my case personally was beyond me though. Someone in his position ought to have at least a few people working for him he trusted to handle new capes. Hopefully once I was done with that nonsense, I could tempt Lily into a sparring match when she came in tonight.

I had a lot of reservations about fencing, mainly that it was a dueling style and not suited for dealing with multiple opponents. But Lilly had made it work for a couple years before getting her arbalest. Hopefully she could give me a few pointers. Even if it wasn't what I wanted for my go to style I wasn't going to turn my nose up at a chance to learn something useful. And any combat practice was better than none. Maybe I could convince her to let me try my luck with a few other weapons as well.

Humming thoughtfully, I stretched out and made my way to the little kitchen area. Something to think about for later. Eggs and toast sounded good. Nice and simple. Just because Shirou wanted to pass on his cooking skills didn't mean I was going to go all out all the time. Sometimes simple is best after all.

 **{}{}{}{}**

Glenn Chambers office was spacious and filled with an eclectic selection of superhero merchandise, photos, and even a few costumed mannequins. It was almost exactly what I had been expecting when I'd been told I was set to meet the head of PR. The one thing that truly seemed out of place was the rather _round_ man sitting behind the desk wearing a tight fitting, neon green t-shirt, that depicted Myrridan.

"Ah, our newest Ward! Come in, come in!" He didn't quite shout. It was more that he just projected his voice to carry. "Have a seat. I'll be with you in just a moment."

The man, whom I could only assume was Glenn, turned his attention back to the woman standing at the edge of his desk as he tapped at something on his desk. As I got closer, I realized they were posters.

"Take these back to marketing and tell them I want them using brighter backgrounds. I'll be busy for the next hour or so. So be sure to tell them to have plenty of mockups ready. That should be more than enough time."

The woman nodded rapidly before collecting the posters and power walking out of the room.

"Well then, it's a pleasure to meet you miss," He trailed off expectantly even as he offered me his hand to shake.

Shaking it I could only shrug my shoulders as I settled into an empty chair. "Haven't really got a name yet. I kicked around a few ideas, but I was a lot more concerned with getting the hang of my powers. Well, that, and dealing with all the shrinks."

"Ahh, yes. That unfortunate business. Well you're in luck that's one of the things I'm here to help you with." He gave me what I suspect was supposed to be a charming smile. Between how he looked and how little I trusted anyone that climbed this high in any sort of organization… Yeah, no. If anything, it just put me more on edge.

"Right, not to sound too rude, but why am I meeting with you? Shouldn't you have people to handle this for you?"

Glenn hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "Normally? Yes. I often take time to work with the Wards individually, but that's often limited to correcting public relations issues. In your case though there are some issues I felt we needed to address."

"Such as?" I kept my voice carefully neutral.

"Well for starters I felt I should apologize. I was one of the people who pushed to turn down your request to be allowed to leave with your cape name and image." He said it so calmly. As if it was of no more importance than what he might have for lunch today.

" _Taylor,"_ Archer's voice cut through my rising outrage. _"keep your head."_ There was caution and tempered anger in his voice.

I took a deep breath and bit down on my anger. Archer was right. If this prick had the kind of power to influence that decision, I didn't want to blow up at him. Not yet anyway. I might have signed on even without my escape clause, but I sure wasn't happy about it. I'd certainly given Legend a _look_ when I signed my contract. My threat was still very much an option if things went bad here.

"Why?" I asked frigidly.

"Well the last time someone left with their cape name and costume was Mouse Protector." Glenn blew out a long suffering sigh. "Why my predecessor allowed that catastrophe is beyond me. She consistently comes in the top twenty in cape popularity polls even though she's been independent for years. Every time people think of her they remember that one of the original Wards left the program to work on her own. It's terrible for our credibility." He shook his head sadly. "No, I simply refuse to repeat one of my predecessors' greatest mistakes."

" _... I take it back. The man's an idiot. Feel free to rip a chunk out of his hide."_

I growled but otherwise manage to not start lambasting the man.

"The only way the situation could have been worse is if she had died shortly after parting ways." Glenn continued, and as he said that he eyed me sharply and I felt the pieces click into place.

" _... Alright I definitely don't like him but, he's not an idiot."_ I admitted to Shirou.

" _Mmph. No, I suppose not."_

"That's a reasonable worry I suppose. Though if someone were to make a big enough stink as they left… I think a name change would do very little to actually limit the fallout." I countered sourly. "Being forced to change their name and costume would really just be one more thing the average person might find offensive about an already bad situation."

Glenn's lip twitched upward ever so slightly. "Perhaps." He waved a hand lazily through the air. "But one person getting into a mudslinging match with an entire organization? That sounds like a losing battle."

"Oh, maybe." I admitted with feigned disinterest. "Then again you just admitted that one of the most successful and popular capes in the country decided the Protectorate wasn't worth being a part of. Similar success from someone with a concrete list of grievances they're willing to air in public? I think that might be remembered, don't you?" I asked. Sugar and acid dripped from my words in equal measure.

The fat bastard actually had the temerity to chuckle. "Perhaps, but most independents don't last nearly so long. Besides, I find once people have made connections, they tend to have a hard time leaving a group."

"And if such a Ward were to die shortly after making a fuss and airing their grievances?" I was honestly morbidly curious what his answer might be.

"Obviously such a terrible tragedy could have been avoided if the poor child had still had backup from the Wards and Protectorate. Perhaps a few changes need to be made to the program to prevent similarly frustrated teens from following such a risky example." Glenn shrugged.

" _I am very reluctantly impressed."_ Shirou stated honestly.

" _Yeah, same. Man's a slime ball but he knows what he's doing."_ I grumbled back.

"Hopefully such an unfortunate chain of events won't ever play out." I said as blandly as I could manage. _"And if I do end up leaving… well a long and successful carrier would certainly be excellent revenge."_

"On a slightly lighter topic I'd like to talk to you about your, shall we say, built in instructor."

"Shirou? What about him?" I asked with just a bit of a warning edge to my words. _"Shirou what have you gotten me into this time?"_

" _Don't look at me."_ He grumbled.

"Simply put? I would very much prefer you never mention him in public. We can spin nearly anything. Unfortunately, your situation is tinfoil hat bait. If it becomes public knowledge there will always be someone who insists you are actually insane, or a new Butcher, or that you consumed someone's soul, or something equally absurd. It's much simpler to avoid the issue."

Oh, was that all? "Sure, last thing I want is to end up back in an asylum because the public had a collective conniption fit." I agreed easily.

"Glad as I am you are so reasonable about this, please don't ever speak like that in costume." Glenn's tone spoke of personal suffering and minimal tolerance.

I shrugged not wanting to get into that conversation. At all.

"So, costume and name." I deflected. "I've actually got something in mind for the costume already. Well, I should say I have a starting point for my costume already. I want to base it on Shirou's old outfit. It's actually pretty good but I'm going to need a helmet or mask. And I'm not sure what kind of materials you have for the armored portion. Do you have a room I can change in? I can trace myself a basic copy. It probably won't be professional quality, but it should give you the basic idea."

"Hmmm." Glenn eyed me carefully. I wasn't sure if he was debating the point of even looking at some 'amateurs' idea of a costume, or if he was less than happy with my deflection. Finally, he seemed to come to a decision. "In there. It'll be a bit cramped but there should be enough room to change." He pointed to a door off to the left side of the office.

Nodding I got to work.

Three minutes later I was back in front of Glenn's desk wearing Shirou's black and red outfit, plus the standard domino mask I'd been wearing every time I left the Ward's room. Glenn was now eyeing me as if I had gone from just another part of his day to something actually worth attention. It almost could have been gratifying if I gave a damn about fashion, or if the outfit had been mine originally. Instead it just annoyed me that he seemed surprised I had a decent costume idea.

"I'm not really a fan of the sleeves." I said frankly. "They look pretty cool, but they aren't really going to be enough to keep me warm during winter. And the tassels just seem goofy to me."

" _Hey!"_ Shirou sounded only mildly offended.

"Mmm, yes I see what you mean. Perhaps a heavy coat for winter and a windbreaker for when it warms up." He jotted down a few notes quickly before refocusing on me. "Though I can see a number of other details we're going to need to change." Glenn murmured thoughtfully as he looked me up and down again. It was a strictly clinical look.

I shrugged. "What did you have in mind." I asked. He was the professional here… no matter how hard that might be to believe given his personal fashion sense. Besides this was Shirou's look. I wanted to use it as a base, not copy him exactly.

"The straps on the pants need to go. They don't serve any purpose, do they?" He asked the last bit rather sharply.

I shook my head in negation. "Not really."

"Then they need to go." He said decisively. "We want you to look like a hero, not a punk rocker." He hummed thoughtfully. "Though really, you have legs a model might envy. Perhaps turn the half cloak into a skirt and replace the pants with leggings…" He trailed of as he caught sight of my scowl.

"I'm not here to be a model, I'm here to stop criminals and help people. Pants are more practical and sturdier." I firmly rebuked. I might be proud of how my legs looked now, but I wasn't going to risk flashing my underwear to some criminal just so I could show off and end up on the walls and ceilings of creepy teenage boys. My ego did not need that kind of boost. Or maybe he meant something more like yoga pants?

...On second thought that would almost be worse than wearing stockings and a skirt.

"Besides, that would have the same problem as the sleeves." I picked at one of said sleeves. "Not nearly warm enough for the colder months."

"Yes, but a skirt and leggings would emphasize your femininity. That chest armor you are wearing isn't doing you any favors." He said critically.

I gave Glenn a very firm glare. I was an A cup. I would likely always be and A cup. But the armor would stay even if it made me look flat as a washboard. I could deal with having small breasts. What I could not deal with was having bullet holes in my body.

"Though with hair like that no one is going to mistake you for boy." He relented. "How best to display it though?" He tapped a pen against his desk. "Do you normally wear your hair loose like that?"

I nodded.

"We'll go with a ponytail for when you are in costume then. That one streak of white you seem to be developing might be an issue though. Is that a result of your powers?"

"Near as I can tell, yeah."

"We'll look into some hair dyes then. Otherwise it's going to give you away fairly quickly."

That was a fair point. I might have tried dying it before, but just getting a shampoo I liked had been an issue two days ago, never mind hair dye. I didn't really dislike the white streak in my hair, but I did like the idea of having a secret identity so that was really the end of the matter.

"Sure, I'll look for some the next time I go out shopping."

Glenn shook his head. "Don't bother. I'll have some sent along with your costume once it's ready."

"Alright, saves me the trouble."

"The domino mask doesn't really work with the look. We're going to want a helmet I think. Visor over the eyes, leave the mouth open, naturally. Hmm a whole at the back you can feed a ponytail through… What colors though…" he drummed his fingers against his desk. Red for the helmet itself, black for the visor, and perhaps some white accents along the side? Yes. That should work nicely."

"A black visor? Won't that mess up my vision?"

"No, not at all actually. It's one of the more useful tinker inventions, and thankfully one simple enough Dragon can mass produce it easily." Glenn answered absentmindedly as he continued to look me up and down even as he started to sketch away at a pad. "It's a sort of one way mirror. Very strong, hard to break, doesn't impede sight looking out, but completely opaque from the other side."

"Very useful." I admitted. "What about the chest armor?"

"Mm a bit trickier that." He mumbled now completely focused on his pad, scribbling furiously. "We have a tinker who makes a sort of leather like substance that should do the trick. Highly bullet resistant. Testing has seen it stop buckshot regularly, it's also rather flame retardant."

I whistled appreciatively. "That'll work just fine." I said grinning a little.

" _That'll be better than fine."_ Shirou spoke up, sounding pleased. _"That kind of stopping power with reinforcement on top of it? It won't protect your limbs, but it will certainly keep your important bits safe."_

We sat in silence for a few minutes as Glenn drew something. Finally, the man gave a satisfied hum and spun the pad around for me to see. The drawing was a bit rough but clearly depicted me in an altered version of Shirou's outfit.

The pants and boots remained largely the same, minus the straps. Shirou's waist cape had been replaced though with an asymmetrical skirt that emphasized my slim hips. On my right side it would fall to just below my hip. Across my front it would maintain that length until reaching my left hip where it would start to dip dramatically to meet the fabric along my back which lengthened in an arc. The lowest edge would match Shirou's cape behind my left leg about three inches below my knee.

The chest armor remained largely the same, although with some slight modifications to make it better fit my build and subtly emphasize my breasts. Over that was a red windbreaker which had been cut off. Oh the sleeves were full length, but the body of it had been trimmed so it would rest at about the base of my ribs. Like that it would leave my developing abs, or rather the armor that would highlight them, exposed.

Finally, was the helmet. It was red and left the lower face exposed, with a simple black visor over the eyes. There were a trio of parallel white lines that began at the edge of the visor and presumably would rap all the way around the helmet. Protruding from the back was a long black ponytail.

Taking it all in I glanced up at Glenn a bit wide eyed. He grinned back in a very self satisfied manner.

"I know you shot down the skirt and leggings idea, but I think this over the pants is a fair compromise." He said it almost magnanimously.

I wanted to object, mainly because the idea of wearing a skirt over pants sounded silly… but it actually looked pretty good. It wasn't really any odder then Shirou's cape when I thought about it.

"It's good." I finally admitted. "I wouldn't have thought of it but it's actually really good."

Glenn hummed happily. "Naturally we'll want a full coat for the winter months, gloves too, and likely a scarf as well. But For warmer weather and indoor promotional events I think this is look will work very well. As long as you don't have any objections?" He asked arching one eyebrow.

I glanced over the sketch one final time before shaking my head and handing it back to him. "No objections from me. Though I would say that any gloves need to be fingerless or they'll interfere with my fighting… so I guess the winter jacket should have pockets I can stick my hands in… Maybe also include a lighter coat for when it's a bit cold, but not bad enough to need the winter jacket. Oh! And a helmet camera. I know were supposed to be careful, but, well… Most of my weapons are blades of some sort. I'd rather have video evidence in case something ever goes wrong."

Glenn nodded thoughtfully and jotted down a few notes along the side of the sketch.

"The camera is a good precaution. Though I must stress that you work with your team to develop less risky uses for your power. Having a recording of any fights is just as likely to work against you if it seems like you were acting recklessly." I nodded accepting the advice. I might not like how the Protectorate hamstrung us in fights, but I'd need to work with it regardless for now. "Well I must say that went far quicker than I had anticipated when you said you already had a costume in mind. Quite a few people can be very uncooperative when that happens."

"Shirou's old outfit is a good base to work from." I replied easily. "But I'm not him. I don't fight the way he does, I've got a different build, were not even the same gender. Making changes to make the look mine… it feels right." I shrugged unsure how to further articulate my point.

Glenn seamed to understand though and just nodded. "Right, well, your costume doesn't really lend itself to any particular theme so your options for names won't be limited by one either." He took a moment to search through the drawers of his desk before surfacing with a folder. He leafed through several pages before setting aside what looked to be a half dozen, more detailed, costume sketches. Then he passed me a sheet of paper with a list of names on it.

I couldn't quite fight off a grimace as I worked my way down the list. "These all seem…" I spun my right hand in a circle as I searched for the right word. "Generic."

Glenn huffed out a breath of air. Something between amused and exasperated. "And you think names like Legend, or Hero were any better before people had faces and accomplishments to go with them?" He asked seriously as he pointed his pencil at me. "No, I rather agree with you. Most cape names are quite uninspired and dull. It's up to the cape in question to make the name mean something."

I shot him an appraising look before glancing over the list again. "I'd thought about just calling myself Emiya, it's Shirou's family name. I suppose that would draw a lot of attention for being so unusual, wouldn't it?"

" _You never mentioned that to me."_ Shirou sounded rather touched by the idea.

" _Well… I wasn't sure what you would think of it. I didn't want to offend you."_ I admitted.

" _I would be flattered if you did."_ Shirou declared firmly. I smiled lightly and sent a mental hug his way.

"A caucasian teenager going by a Japanese family name while in costume? Yes, that would put you right at the center of a great deal of speculation, and probably no small amount of jokes." Glenn deadpanned.

" _I get the feeling Glenn isn't going to let you though."_ Shirou stated flatly with just a hint of irritation coloring his words. I could clearly feel much more than a hint of it coming off of his mental presence. I suppose he really had appreciated the idea.

I took another minute to go over Glenn's list of suggested names whittling away the worst options until only a few remained. At last I set the paper down on his desk and tapped my selection with a finger.

"Arsenal. It's not a great name, but I'll make it work."

Glenn nodded firmly. "Certainly, one of the better options." With that said he circled my choice and stapled it to his rough sketch and pulled out some kind of form and started filling it in. "I'm going to hand you off to our costume team now. They'll get you measurements and see to ordering your costume." He continued to fill out the paperwork in front of him before stapling that to the other sheets. With a nod to himself he hit a button on his desk phone.

"Martha, I need you to take miss Arsenal down to Violet for her costume fitting."

"Yes, Mr. Chambers!" A peppy voice filtered through the speaker. A moment later the door opened and the blonde secretary I'd passed on my way in entered.

Glenn stood and offered me his hand over the desk. I quickly stood and shook it.

"Well, Arsenal, it's been a pleasure meeting you. I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks." I answered simply. I wasn't really sure how I felt about Glenn. He definitely wasn't someone I wanted to get to know better, and he'd shut down my escape clause and my preferred cape name. But he was clearly a competent professional who hadn't tried, to hard at least, to stick me in some outfit that would get in my way.

Taking my paperwork, I followed Martha out of the room. In the end I gave up on trying to understand the man. What mattered is that I was one step closer.


	11. Chapter 9

**AN:** **I had several people asking about Shirou's shroud and why Taylor wasn't fighting to keep it. First, I didn't know it was anything other than window dressing to make him look cool. Which, given full body blue spandex wasn't a thing in ancient Ireland, I think it was a reasonable assumption to make. According to the wiki it is called 'Red Plain Mystic Code' a type of 'Holy Shroud'. It is not the Shroud of Martin. Consensus of the Fate fans I run to with questions is that it is essentially personal climate control with built in sunscreen. Alright their exact words were more like 'offers some protection from the elements' but basically same thing. Far as I'm concerned a knife proof jacket for every weather is about as good, if slightly less convenient. So yeah costume design from the previous update stands. Sorry to those this might upset.**

 **As always please leave a review if you like the story.**

* * *

Sprawled out on one of couches I chewed on the cap of my pen as I glared at Shirou's Aria, and the three lines I had so far of mine. I could trace Noble Phantasms now, but they fought against me. Or rather the Unlimited Blade Works fought me. I needed to either improve what I had or add more lines. The initial burst of inspiration had come easily enough, but refining and building on it was proving stupidly frustrating.

I had jotted down and then crossed out dozens of lines in the past hour. The second and third line sounded right to me but the first was… it wasn't bad. But it had the same feel as a kid trying on their parents' clothes or shoes to play dress up. I could wear it, but it didn't fit me properly. The lines past that point were even more frustrating. They described Shirou well, if in a stupidly dramatic manor, but they didn't fit _me_. No amount of tweaking them was going to make them fit either. No, I'd have to start from scratch if I wanted this to go any farther.

The problem with that plan though was I didn't really feel like I'd done enough to really work out any lines past that point. They were all about how he fought, grew, and was seen. But I hadn't fought anyone yet. I was lacking the combat experience that had truly shaped Shirou.

With a sigh I gave it up as a wash for now and flipped the binder shut before reaching for the Wards public relations manual. I had put of reading this one in favor of the 'combat manual'. After meeting with Glenn though I really felt the need to get a better grip on just how the Protectorate operated. And I had suspected this is where I needed to look for that information. It was a bit hit and miss in that regard. It overlapped with their definition of acceptable force but it also covered a bunch of other things. Public speaking, how to interact with the public, and our online presence to name some of the highlights.

The reading was pretty dry. You could tell that someone had dumbed the vocabulary down for impatient teens and children who just wouldn't have the attention span to read through blocks of legal jargon. But at the end of the day it was still a government written law enforcement manual that tried to outline proper behavior. It covered for those issues reasonably well by including dozens of anecdotes that outlined whatever concept they were trying to convey.

Still dry reading.

Though it really was solidifying my impression on the Protectorate's obsession with public relations. Which reinforced the wisdom of asking for that camera. I refused to be railroaded back into some cell just because the people in charge might get a bug up their ass about something.

Maybe a bit paranoid, but I wasn't about to let them lock me up again if I could help it. My teammates seemed ok so far, but I barely knew them, and they were Wards. They didn't get to make any of the big important calls. That was for the upper echelons of the Protectorate, and the PRT. Even if things seemed to be going my way right now, I wasn't about to forget the three months of issues that lead up to this point.

Turning the page, I forced myself to pay attention to another anecdote about how capes didn't get to be human. Because humans make mistakes, and heroes had to be perfect idols. Really it was an insane standard. If they actually wanted to market us all as paragons, they shouldn't work so hard to make capes stand out as individuals. No one ever remembered one cops name because he's just one more police officer and part of the force. A lot easier to sweep mistakes under the rug that way. Or if it really comes down to it, throw the one fuck up to the wolves because _of course_ they weren't representative of the rest.

Twenty minutes later the door buzzer went off. I traced a domino mask directly onto my face without even bothering to move. It was probably just the rest of the team coming in from school, but why take a chance? Priorities taken care of I refocused on the story about the cape who got caught urinating in a back alley because they had been stuck on a long patrol and couldn't find a bathroom.

"Hey, Taylor!" Dani called as she literally cartwheeled through the still closed door. "Any leftovers?"

"Hey, Dani." I waved back with my free hand. "Still a few servings of the Lasagna in the fridge. Though I've also got chicken marinating for later if you want to wait. Should be enough for everyone. There was some fruit in there too if you want a snack."

She hummed agreeably and bounced off towards the kitchen as the door finally opened. Fred came through first, head already buried in a binder full of some kind of notes. Jason was flicking away at his phone and Lily trailed the two of them before the door slid shut. No longer worried about unexpected guests I dissolved the domino mask. All three offered a greeting, which I returned, but the boys headed off for their respective rooms while Lily plopped down in the chair closest to me. She quickly pulled out a textbook and some paper before starting to chip away at her homework. Dani, munching her way through a banana, joined us a minute later. She claimed a couch of her own before digging out what looked to be a mandatory reading book. Lord of the Flies, dark, but a good story.

For a while that's just how things went. All three of us working away at our own assignments in companionable silence.

It was nice. The quiet was comfortable.

An hour later I finally finished reading the manual. Stretching I got up and made for the kitchen which set Dani to giggling happily and made Lily look up.

"You're cooking again?" She asked as she set aside her work and followed me to the kitchen.

"Well, yeah. I figured no one would mind so long as I made enough for everyone. Is it a problem?" I asked glancing back over my shoulder.

"What? No! Not at all! Heck, if yesterday is anything to judge by then I'm _thrilled_. And I bet everyone else will be too." She reassured me quickly. "It's just that none of us can really cook, so we were always getting stuff delivered. Kind of surprised you know how to cook though?"

"Mmm, well… Mom died a while back. I had to learn a few recipes or just settle for peanut butter sandwiches, or Dad's cooking."

Lilly flinched. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

I blew out a breath as I pulled the Ziplock bags filled with marinating chicken out of the fridge and laid them out on the counter. "It's alright. You didn't know." I answered as I reached for a baking tray. We didn't have a grill here and for this kind of quantity it would be simpler to cook them in the oven then on a pan. "Anyway, I could make a few things before, but I'm leaning pretty heavily on Shirou's experience right now for everything from recipes to skill."

"Wait, so the guy who came with your powers… was some kind of chef?" The curious tilt of her head as she asked was adorable.

"Not professionally." I shrugged and sprayed the pan down. "More like a hobby. Or a guilty pleasure maybe. He's pretty steamed because a lot of his best recipes are Japanese and we just don't have the ingredients for any of them."

"He sounds like an interesting guy." Lily's tone screamed polite curiosity. It made me chuckle lightly as I laid out the chicken on the pan and set it in the oven.

"Shirou's… He's odd. Serious most of the time, especially about helping people, combat, and cooking. But he can be kind of apathetic about a lot of other things. His sense of humor is… Very sarcastic. He can make just about anything sound insulting by tone of voice alone."

Lily slid into a chair at the kitchen island and watched as I set about chopping vegetables. She eyed me thoughtfully as she worked through what I'd just told her. "Sounds like you care a lot about him." She said after a minute or two.

"He's my mentor." A simple statement that didn't really convey everything I wanted to say. "He's been with me for three months now. _Constantly_ at first. And believe me that got awkward in a hurry."

" _Like right now for example."_ Shirou's dry tone cut through my mind. _"You've got dinner in hand. I'll check back in later."_ He said as his presence receded.

I guess listening to other people talk about you could be awkward. Even when it was positive.

"Oh, I'll bet." Lilly cringed.

I just nodded and put the vegetables in a pot of water and set them on the stove to boil. "Yeah very awkward, for both of us. Then one day on of the Doctor's wants to talk about us living together long term, and how would we compromise about sharing my body and… I still can't believe she could be so blunt about it, _dating_. She actually asked me what I would do if I wanted to 'read a certain kind of literature.'" I put on my best impression of Doctor Yamada for the relevant quote.

"Are you talking about Doctor Yamada?" Dani asked from almost literally right behind me.

I may have shrieked… just a little. "Where the hell did you come from?!"

"Through the wall." Dani answered brightly. "That sounded like something Doctor Yamada would say, and it was a pretty good impression of her voice too."

Looking to Lilly for help only got me commiserating smile.

Throwing my hands up in surrender I reached for another pot and the bag of rice. "Yes it was Doctor Yamada who asked me that." I admitted. I guess what she said about sometimes seeing various wards teams was true then. "Embarrassed the hell out of Shirou and I. So there we were, both wanting to just run like hell and nowhere to go… and Shirou says something ridiculous."

"Oh?" Lily prompted.

"Oh yeah." I nodded. "See the thing about what I do? I'm not just making up whatever weapon I want. I can modify some of them a bit, but at their base? Everything I can make is a weapon either Shirou or I have seen. And I haven't had much of a chance to add to the collection just yet. But I can do that with every simple weapon we've seen. _Thousands_ of weapons. It's too much information for the human mind to reliably store. So it's all, it's sort of saved like a computer file into what Shirou calls; the Unlimited Blade Works."

Both girls are giving me their full attention and I swing into a seat across from Lilly.

"So there I am, red as a beat, stammering like mad. Then Shirou pulls the best 'fuck this shit I'm out' tone I've ever heard, and tells me he'll be in the Unlimited Blade Works. Next second? For the first time in more than a month I've got my head to myself... and I can't even enjoy the moment because the dick left me to deal with a psychiatrist who wanted to talk about my love life." I grumbled.

I had been ready to kick his ass when it happened. But it had been more than a month now and even I had to admit it was pretty funny, in hindsight.

Dani certainly agreed as she dissolved into giggles. Lily was more restrained but she was chuckling too.

"So how _does_ that work?" Lily asked after she got her laughter under control. "You and Shirou sharing a body. Is he just going to duck out whenever you want some privacy?" She asked a bit nervously.

"Or whenever he decides he doesn't want to listen to whatever I'm talking about. He actually went into hiding a little after we started talking." I shrugged. "It's… well it's not fair to him, but like I said he can be pretty apathetic about a lot of things so he doesn't really _care_. And, well…"

I hesitated. I didn't need to tell them. It was weird, and hard to explain and just so easy for someone to take badly.

"If it's too personal you don't have to say anything." Lily got out in a rush. Dani pouted for a moment before she to nodded in reluctant agreement.

I blew out a breath and leaned back in my chair. "Sort of. It also sounds crazy." I admitted with a shrug. "I… really don't want to mess this up if you take it badly."

The girls shared a look. "Taylor, if you don't want to talk about something you don't have to." Dani smiled lightly.

"Yeah." Lily rushed to add. "You only just met us. We'll get it if you want to hold some stuff back."

"Yeah... I suppose. It's just that all those conversations with the shrinks are telling me to rip it off like a band aid, and not make more problems for future me."

"So?" Lily asked carefully.

"...Shirou won't stick around forever. Part of how I'm learning so fast is because whatever or however powers work is absorbing him… _I'm_ absorbing him. And that's changing me, influencing my personality. So far, if anything, it's just made me more sarcastic and practical but…" I shrugged and looked away. "I just try to think of it as emulating someone I look up to."

"Oh, _damn_." Lily breathed out.

I was going to say something. Damned if I knew what, but I was going to say _something_. Only I got cut off by a hug from Dani before I could. A moment later Lily slid around the kitchen island and joined the hug. I sort of awkwardly patted whatever bit of back and shoulder my arms were closest to.

"I want to help, but I don't know how we _could."_ The fact Lily sounded genuinely upset about that was… nice. I'd appreciated Doctor Yamada's stoic professionalism, but in a lot of ways the outpouring of directionless support felt so much better. Though the hug was starting to feel a smidge awkward. I was not used to getting hugged by near strangers.

"I'm ok, really, I am." I insisted. "I've known about it right from the beginning. I'm more upset that it means I'm going to lose Shirou one day." And that just made Dani hug me all the tighter. "I guess this means you two won't reject me for consuming the soul of my mentor?" I asked dryly.

That startled a laugh out of Lily. And made Dani lean back to look at me wide eyed. I treated her to my best deadpan and she chuckled a bit awkwardly. With a shake of my head I pulled loose and went to check on the food. The chicken and rice would need more time, but the vegetables seemed just about ready so I turned off that burner.

"Thank you." I finally spoke into the growing silence. "I do appreciate the sentiment, really, I do. But I've talked this all out a dozen times with at least three different psychiatrists. And even before I talked it out with them, I knew what was happening to me. I'm still me, just a little different from before I triggered. And between all the new situations, the sessions with the doctors, and Shirou's influence, it can be hard to tell what's a natural change and what's being pushed on me."

I shook my head. "I'm past worrying about it. It's happening. Can't stop it, can't change it... Just have to ride it out. And if I'm unhappy with who I end up being? I'll just have to work at being someone better." I spoke calmly. "Now I just worry about how other people will react. Got to admit, hugs were not what I was expecting." I grinned at the two of them.

The pair of them smiled back. A touch sad, and more than a little hesitant, but honest smiles all the same.

"So!" I clapped my hands together. "Something lighter to talk about, please. I've been over all my issues with a fine tooth comb in the past few months, and I don't really want to do it again right now. Tell me about yourselves?"

Dani smiled a bit more brightly. "We'll I grew up here in New York, Dad's an office drone, Mom's a nurse-" Apparently once you got Dani going getting her to stop became the hard part. The girl happily chattered away about anything and everything. It was endearing if a bit overwhelming. A few minutes later I found myself sharing a surreptitious grin with Lily when Dani stopped to take a breath.

I could get used to this. I really could. I wanted to be out there getting experience and helping people. But if this was how those nights would start, or what I would come back to when everything was said and done… Yeah, I could get used to this.


	12. Chapter 10

**Right, this is one of those moments where the writer asks the audience to step up and help them (me) grow. For all my practice writing in the past few years I have very little experience writing fight scenes. There's a spar in here between Taylor and Lily. I need honest and constructive criticism. I think it's alright, but then I wrote the damn thing, I'm biased. So yeah. I'm working my way up to some seriously hectic combat in the future, and I want to go into that with as solid a base as I can manage. I'd really appreciate any constructive criticism.**

* * *

 **{}{}{}{} Tuesday**

Jason and Dani took off to do a foot patrol. Apparently being the Wards heavy hitters didn't mean we could get out of running actual foot patrols all the time. Just most of the time. Frank and Lily were on call, but otherwise could do what they wanted. Dispatch was being handled by troopers at the main building. Apparently, New York felt that tying down heroes with monitor duty was a waste of resources.

Fred had dug into his lab to work on some tinker project, but Lily was lounging in the living room idly bouncing her head to some music. Her costume was on minus her mask and her arbalest was resting by the door which led down to the railway bikes.

Stepping into Lily's line of sight I traced a foil and waved it lightly. Blinking owlishly, she pulled out her ear buds and sat up properly.

"Any chance we could spar a bit? I'd like to see how you made fencing work for you." I asked, leaning against one of the nearby couches.

Lily grinned brightly in response before frowning slightly and shaking her head. "We don't really have any safety gear for you to wear…" She trailed off as I traced a fencing helmet. I'd had to study the one in the gym with structural analysis for a while to pull it off, and it wasn't my best work, but it should suffice. Laughing she stood up and made her way over. "Ok, so do you know anything about fencing?" She asked with an easy smile.

I shrugged and walked beside her towards the gym. "I know the basic footwork, even practiced it a bit, but it doesn't really seem like a good fit for fighting multiple enemies who won't come at you head on."

"Mmm true." She nodded. "Right if it's just one person coming at you in a line you really can't beat the fencing standard L stance. Lot of explosive power and accuracy to get you in and out. But if there is more than one opponent or you need to circle around or be able to just move sideways then the game changes." She lectured calmly. "You basically have to angle your feet inwards a bit rather than keep those nice straight lines and change how you distribute your weight. It makes it easier to move around but kills the speed and precision you normally get from a fencing stance. Then I practiced switching back and forth between the two types of footwork as fast as I could so I could go from movement to lunge. Since I was really only changing the angle of my feet and redistributing my weight, I got it to work after a while. The sense of timing my power gives me helped a lot though."

As we walked, she outlined the differences in the footwork and I nodded thoughtfully.

What she was describing made sense, in theory at least. I could sort of see what she meant even just picturing it in my mind. I'd have to see how it worked in practice though before I considered adding it to my bag of tricks. A spear gave most of the same advantages a rapier gave. Though a spear was _maybe_ a bit slower in direct thrusts but not by much. The tradeoff for that speed was better reach and the ability to block attacks other than thrusts.

Still, that was all theory on my end. I didn't know any of it for a fact. That was the whole point of asking Lily to show me.

{}{}{}{}

Parry.

Thrust.

Back back back!

" _Damn but Lily is fast with that thing!"_

Lily's blade flashed out nearly a blur to my eyes. Granted I wasn't reinforcing myself, but that she was pushing me so hard when neither of us were using powers just meant I had more room to improve.

Still though… I was almost keeping up with her. Classic fencing from a fit amateur versus Lily's personal style shouldn't be this closely matched… except she was used to fighting with her power and right now we weren't using any.

" _You've noticed it as well, haven't you?"_ Archer asked flatly. _"You'll never be able to make use of her personal style."_

I tried to ignore him and launched into a vicious series of parry ripostes with Lily. Our blades clicking against one another again and again in quick succession as we tried to be just that little bit faster than each other. Finally, I disengaged with a quick series of steps and held up a hand to call a stop.

" _It's not a complete waste."_ I tried to insist. As I pulled off my helmet. _"There are some bits I could-"_

" _Don't lie to yourself!"_ Sensei snapped at me. _"Our mission is too important for you to waste time on skills you can't use. You set aside my preferred blades and style of combat to forge your own path._ _I was not happy about that decision, but I saw the logic in it and agreed it was reasonable. This is not. You have countless swords available to you. Each was wielded by a warrior without equal in this day and age. Those skills are yours to draw upon, practice, and with time and effort, master. Like when you boasted of being able to defeat Armsmaster, you are not being honest with yourself. Now analyze her style and tell me why it will only work for her."_

"Taylor? You alright?" Lily asked as she pulled off her own helmet. And placed it under her arm.

"Fine." I rubbed at the bridge of my nose. "Shirou's just gone into sensei mode." I hesitated for a moment before deciding honesty would be best. "He thinks your style won't work for me and wants me to work out why."

" _You already know why. Now you need to admit it."_ Sensei said firmly.

I took a breath and let it out slowly. "The most obvious thing is that you don't fight like someone using a rapier. More like someone with a saber." I said slowly as I rubbed at my forehead. "You could cut through steel with a piece of balsa wood and you know it. You make little slashes that aren't suited for thrusting weapons."

Lily crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back. Her face was a mask of polite interest.

"It's more than that though." I waved my foil in a sweeping arc. "You don't parry with the middle of the blade. You swipe with the tip because if you were using your power it would cut my weapon. And you don't bother worrying about the edge of your blade because with your power even the flat can cut."

" _Good, keep going."_ Sensei encouraged.

"Your footwork is something I could probably use." I admitted waving a hand towards her feet. "But the transition from circling to lunging that you use… it takes amazing timing. I'd have to practice it for ages to get that good. Most of my weapons favor completely different footwork and styles. Getting that good at your style…" I shook my head. "Without your power getting that good with it wouldn't be worth the time I would have to invest in it."

I shot her an apologetic look. I hoped she wouldn't be too upset. To my surprise she actually looked thoughtful.

"I didn't realize I was parrying so near the tip of the blade." She half asked.

"Umm, yeah I assume with your power it's a good way to destroy weapons and it just makes sense to do that as far from your body as possible. Not surprising you ended up adjusting your style to take advantage of it."

She hummed thoughtfully and tapped her foot with the tip of her foil. "Kind of a shame. I was looking forward to sparring with you more. Even if I have mostly hung up my sword these days."

"Well… if you don't mind me practicing my spear work instead?" Putting my helmet back on I traced a staff and set myself into a basic spear stance.

With a grin that flashed a few more teeth than normal, Lily donned her helmet and settled into her circling stance. Her blade held slightly across her chest rather than being pointed at me head on. The two of us circled each other. I could just make out the amused grin on her face behind the screen of her helmet.

I watched carefully as we moved. Her stance was solid and she moved with the fluid grace that only long practice granted. Her feet didn't so much leave the ground as they did glide along it. Little advantage there. That was fine though. I'd just have to push through her defenses.

I lunged forward thrusting for her right shoulder. It was the closest part of her torso and her stance presented it more openly then if she stuck to a fencing stance.

Her response was a lightning quick swipe from her foil. Treating it like real combat and acting as if her weapon was enhanced by her power, I jerked my staff back out of her range.

I jabbed forward twice more. Light probing attacks without a real lunge behind them. Just quick steps forward. Both aimed at that same shoulder. Lily danced back lightly from the first and took a swipe at the second slapping it aside before riposting. I took two quick steps back before starting to circle again.

Lily moved in time with me denying me any easy openings. She stayed on the defensive though, just letting me set the pace.

Part of me wanted to know if she was just getting a feel for my style, or if she was primarily a defensive fighter. I dismissed the thought. It was too early to tell yet. I'd just have to keep an eye out for her going on the offensive.

Didn't matter, I'd _let_ her brush aside my last attack, but without her power…

I put my all into a stab for her collarbone. Sure enough, Lily swiped at my staff with her foil, but her blade weighed next to nothing. Even though it was moving fast she didn't put any real force behind it either. She was too used to her power simply cutting through things.

She deflected my stab all of maybe an eighth of an inch. The solid tap of wood on padding made me grin as I danced back from her retaliatory stab.

I could just make out Lily's confused look before she realized why her parry hadn't stopped me. Then she growled and went on the offensive.

The first few attacks were just straight lunges. I batted them aside and poked back as I retreated to keep her from getting inside my guard. Lily scowled beneath her helmet and stepped back lightly this time being the first one to start circling forcing me to match her pace.

I didn't like it.

Matching her pace felt like being on the defensive, and I _did not_ like it.

I'd been practicing stances, and forms and attacks. I'd done so daily, in what little room the gym at the asylum provided me. Occasionally I had practiced more exaggerated movements outside rather than my archery. But this was the first time I'd really been able to _fight._ Even if it was just a spar. One more reason Shirou's style wouldn't have worked for me, I guess. I wanted to be on the attack, I wanted to control the pace. Letting someone else do so just didn't sit right with me.

Easy enough to fix. If I wanted to be in control of the fight, I'd just have to take control.

I moved in.

I jabbed high towards her face. Lily changed up her routine and ducked in and down letting my attack go high over her head as she sidestepped inside my guard. But she was too close. A rapier is three feet of metal meant to be used at a distance, not when bodies are a separated by only a foot and a half. I brought my staff in and up treating it like what it was rather than the spear it had been emulating. A good shove might unbalance Lily and give me the opening I needed to either attack or retreat.

She didn't give me the opportunity.

She twisted her entire body so her left side was leading instead of her right, and brought her blade up around her back and in line with her shoulders. It took her only a second and the result was her blade scraping across my chest. Sticking lightly for a moment before I moved away.

I hopped back three steps to get the distance I needed to bring my spear to bear again, but in that time Lily had settled back into her stance. We eyed each other critically for a moment and as one we began to circle once more.

Less frustrating this time. Not on the defensive, just even footing. I couldn't just rush in and think I'd win. Lily was a skilled opponent with years of experience. I learned fast and had the knowledge of many weapon styles I could learn from my weapons, but that _did not_ automatically make me skilled. I learned faster, but nothing taught better than experience and I didn't have any. Not yet.

Time to start fixing that.

I moved in and swiped at Lily's front foot hoping to knock her off balance but she simply stepped back. Unbothered I advanced and jabbed at her upper arm. She sidestepped the jab and started to advance.

I wasn't about to let her get close again so easily.

Planting my feet, I twisted at the waist swiping down and to my right. My staff caught her along her arm and back shoving her farther to the side. The swing completed I moved back quickly even as she made an off-balance lunge which went wide. I didn't let her recover and jumped straight back in. My spear rose from what could almost be a low guard in a fast arc as I lunged for her gut. Lily responded by swiping at my head, probably thinking to force me back. But she misjudged the range of my blow. I stopped a few inches outside her range, but she was still inside mine. The light thump as my blow connected was all the reward I could ever want for my training.

We disengaged and once more the circling dance began.

"You're good." Lily's voice was flecked with both respect and a touch of frustration. "Most people I've fought, they just flail about. Only a few of them ever had any real skill. You actually know how to use that thing."

"Not as well as I'd like to." I admitted. "I'd be doing much worse if you were using your power. But I trained as much as I could with what little space I had. I know the stances and the movements, but they aren't ingrained yet. Even once they are that's still no substitute for real experience." I jabbed lightly but Lily only sped up her circling to move out of the way leaving me scrambling slightly to catch up or leave an opening. But she didn't take advantage. Just returned to her previous speed.

"Mmm I can sort of see that. Some of your moves are a little stiff. And you didn't handle it to well when I got inside your guard."

I nodded. "Sort of the weakness of wielding a polearm or spear. You win at range and lose if someone gets too close. Good way to counter that is to use a shield, but I'm not always going to want to give up mobility for defense." Although right now a nice riot shield would make the fight go a lot smoother. But for that it might be better to swap to more of a short sword. So many different styles to practice and choose from. But one thing at a time. This was the weapon I chose for this fight. I'd own that decision, not give up because something else might have worked better.

"Though I have to say you really surprised me with that move you pulled. Didn't know you could use a rapier that way."

I could just make out Lily's grin through her mesh helmet. "Infighting, if you have to use it you probably already messed up. But it's a lot better than dropping your sword to punch someone."

I felt my lips twitch into a small grin. "Fair enough."

"You know you might want to practice aiming for limbs more." A new voice called from by the door. Spinning on the spot I met Fred's brown eyes as he rubbed a hand through his dark hair. "If you're going to fight with a bladed weapon aiming for the limbs is safer than the head or chest."

I pulled off my helmet as I considered that bit of advice.

"Safer for my opponent maybe. But if I'm fighting with a spear then I'm probably fighting for my life at that point. Holding back in a situation like that seems… Unwise." I deflected.

"What makes you say that? A spear is a knife on a stick. What makes them so dangerous compared to any other weapon?" He asked with careful neutrality as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Most of my weapons are a lot more dangerous than just a sharp object." I objected. "And some of my most potent weapons are spears. If I'm using one of those it means nothing else is working." I chewed at my lip. "I can trace regular spears," I admitted. "but it would be safer to just fight with a regular staff, or pin people in place with Black Keys. If I'm using live steel then it's because the opponent is a serious threat."

"See this is what I don't get about you." Fred said pointing a finger my way. "You've never been in a fight before, but you talk like you're ready to start breaking bones and stabbing people if you feel like you need to."

I could feel Shirou's curiosity grow as Fred spoke but he kept his thoughts to himself.

" _Fred!"_ Lily hissed, as she walked forward to stand next to me. "None of us are exactly in a position to talk. We've all had moments where we stopped holding back before."

"Yeah, we have, but how long did it take for that to happen." He asked, shooting her a look. "I was on this team for months before Jason had to mess someone up to keep me safe. And it was almost a full year before I had to do the same. And it still didn't sit well with me for weeks after it happened. You weren't much better. And Dani? Between her power and how new she is it's all still a thought experiment to her. She doesn't really know how she'll react yet. But Taylor here shows up and the very first day she's so sure she's ready to really hurt someone if it comes down to her or them?"

Fred shot me an indecipherable look but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't know what he was asking yet and I wasn't feeling like taking shots in the dark.

"Look all I'm saying is I've read your file. Nothing in there suggest any reason you should be so ready to kill if it comes down to it. None of us even like _thinking_ about it. But you're so sure you'll pull the trigger when the time comes. That makes me nervous. No one just wakes up certain they can do that sort of thing." He shrugged. "If we're going to work together, I have to trust you. I can't do that until I understand _why_ you think like that already."

"Not saying I won't explain." I started carefully even as I ignored the incredulous look Lily shot me. "But why does it matter so much to you? Shouldn't knowing I'm willing to fight that hard to keep you and the others safe be reassuring?" I honestly didn't understand why knowing a teammate would do whatever it took to keep the team safe would be a bad thing.

Fred nodded. "Normally? Yeah. It's why I'm so willing to jump into fights with Jason. I _know_ he'll keep us safe. But I know how he got that way. I've seen other people willing to really lay on the hurt before. And sometimes it's not about keeping people safe. It's just about making the other guy _hurt_. You don't trust guys like that when you can keep an eye on them, never mind when you need them to watch your back. So, I need to know why you think the way you do."

" _Ahh, very prudent."_ Shirou murmured.

"Damn it, Fred!" Lily groused. "She doesn't even have her costume yet. Did you really need to do this now?"

"It's fine." I waved off her concern. "If we're going to be fighting together someday soon, he needs to know he can trust me." I gave Fred a bit of a look. "Though you really could stand to be a bit less blunt."

Fred had the decency to at least look a little sheepish. I dissolved my staff and helmet, then on reflex traced a butterfly knife. The clicking it made offering me a bit of stress relief even as it seemed to set Fred on edge.

"Shirou's been my teacher in all things power and cape for the past three months." I began simply. "But he's not from around here. Where he's from people with… unusual abilities do their best to remain hidden from the rest of the world. They don't get so many regular villains the way we do. What they do have are more often along the lines of mad scientist playing with things best left alone. That or things a bit like Nilbog." That got some very startled looks from both of my teammates. "So, when they had a threat pop up, they didn't bother with jail, or the three strikes rule, or even secret identities. If someone proved too dangerous to let run around, they got put down."

I grimaced a bit, but shook my head and carried on. "I'm not saying that's the right way to do things here. Plenty of villains don't deserve that. But some of them? The Nine already have kill orders, a few capes do… But I think they could stand to be a lot freer with them. I can think of three capes from back home that deserve them _easy_. You could make decent arguments for a few others as well. And then the idea of fighting to subdue someone trying to kill me." I let my exasperation bleed into my voice.

I spread my hands wide and gave a helpless shrug. "I don't like that. My life is just as important as theirs. Your lives are just as import, civilians too. If an enemy wants to play nice, I guess I can play along, but I've been learning from a guy that might as well be a black ops cape. I'm not advocating open war with villains, just… a measured response, as each case demands."

I finished speaking and watched Fred carefully even as I tried to gauge Lily's reaction from the corner of my eye.

Fred nodded slowly as he mulled over my words. Lily didn't really say anything, but she fidgeted a bit uncomfortably.

Fred broke the growing silence. "Ok. I don't agree with everything you just said, but I can see where you're coming from." He nodded firmly more to himself than to me or Lily before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry to spring that on you like that. It's been bugging me and I just had to know."

"I get it." I nodded. "I'd want to know if my new teammate was going to be some psycho time bomb too. Though if that was all you wanted, I was hoping to get in some more practice."

"Say no more." Fred pushed away from the doorframe and turned to leave tossing a wave over his shoulder. "Enjoy your spar, girls. And welcome to the team, Taylor!"

I turned to look at Lily who was still fidgeting slightly and giving me an assessing look.

"Go ahead and ask whatever's on your mind, Lily." I offered trying not to cringe.

She hesitated a moment but then pushed on. "Yesterday, you told me you were absorbing bits of Shirou's personality. Does that mean…" She trailed off either unwilling to finish the thought, or not sure how to phrase the question.

"That I've picked up some of his views on killing? That it's making me a lot more accepting of the idea?"

Lily nodded. I let out a sigh.

"Probably. I didn't think like this before I met him, but even knowing that I can't say he's wrong, or that I disagree. The police, the military, random civilians who keep a gun for home defense... It's not wrong to be willing to kill someone to keep yourself and the people you care about safe. It's prioritizing, it's... it's just human nature." I spread my hands. "Parahumans are still human. I don't see why we should be held to a higher standard than the police."

Lily chewed her lip thoughtfully. "I can kind of see that. Especially with the Protectorate, but what about us Wards? We're not exactly old enough to even join the police." She countered.

"Then they shouldn't be letting us out in costume at all." I shrugged. "If they're willing to compromise the law and their morality enough to put us in 'adult' situations," I made air quotes. "Then they should accept the fact we'll need to make 'adult' decisions as well."

"They don't exactly have a choice. People would just go out on their own if the Wards didn't exist. It's the best way to limit how much danger kids get into."

"Then they should never have passed the vigilante act." I countered. "That gave anyone _legal permission_ to throw on a funny outfit and take the law into their own hands. If they hadn't passed that they could just arrest anyone running around in a mask then sit on them until they came of age."

"Never would have worked." Lily denied, shaking her head. "Powers want to be used. Not using them… It makes capes go stir crazy after a while. All that would do is drive every underage cape to start breaking the law."

I chewed that one over before nodding. "I suppose so. There really isn't a perfect solution, the issue is just too complex. But I don't feel like the system we have now is the best compromise either."

Lilly hummed thoughtfully but ultimately shrugged before gesturing with her helmet. "Still want to go another round?"

I grinned and retraced my staff and helmet. There would be time for weighty thoughts and complex debates later. Or preferably never. I was getting a bit tired of them already. Right now, I had a fight I could focus on and learn from without any risks or worries.

I was going to enjoy it for as long as I could.


	13. Chapter 11

**AN: Ughhh my momentum got shattered trying to write this one. Really sorry about the stupid long delay. not sure I'm entirly happy with this one especially how abrupt the ending came off... but I've been fighting with this too long already and if I hold onto any longer it won't get posted until I have another 4 or 5k words written so you're all getting it now. Hope you all enjoy!  
**

 **{}{}{}{} Thursday, public relations/public speaking primer**

I couldn't quite fight off the urge to fidget as the public relations team assigned to my debut circled me like hungry sharks sniffing for blood in the water. Chuck, Mark, and Lindsey. The latest trio of hell spawned nightmares sent to make my life miserable. Mercifully these three were not high school girls so I thought my odds of getting out of this encounter with my soul intact were better than they had been back at Winslow.

I was less certain about my dignity and self-respect.

Mark was an impeccably dressed, and almost worryingly thin, black man. Lindsey was a petite brunette dressed in business casual. Chuck seemed to be following Glenn's lead in terms of fashion going by his jeans and the t-shirt depicting one of the local Wards.

"Why did Glenn have to go and ok this outfit?" Chuck bemoaned as he looked me up and down in the model of my costume I had traced based on Glenn's design. "We could have easily played up the white knight angle!"

For a brief moment there was a flicker image of memory and nostalgia from Shirou. A petite blonde in an armored blue dress; Saber, Arturia Pendragon. I recognized her from a few different dreams of the grail war. Not that I had seen much, but the sheer oddity of her existence made her hard to forget.

"Mmm." Lindsey hummed. "It would have been a great win with feminist groups as well. The brave woman in shining armor? They would have eaten that up with a spoon and asked for seconds." She agreed airily. Despite her agreement I got the feeling she wasn't half so offended by my costume choice as Chuck.

I snorted. The idea of myself dressing like Arturia and playing up the valiant knight? Hah, no. Even before Shirou, the trio and Winslow had made me too cynical and pragmatic to do what little I knew about the woman king justice.

"Too late to worry about it now, and you have to admit this is a good look." Mark cut in. "Solid, serious, dependable. A no nonsense look."

"The skirt and belly showing windbreaker aren't really agreeing with you." Chuck threw in with an arched eyebrow.

Mark waved that off. "Those are details. The base outfit screams serious hero."

I decided right then I liked Mark best... so far. There was still plenty of time for him to piss me off.

"True, true." Lindsey muttered as she circled around my left cradling her chin in her right hand. "Nothing wrong with serous heroes, but let's not leave her so one dimensional in the public eye. After all the skirt and jacket _do_ tell the world she's a young woman as well."

Chuck grunted something vaguely agreeable. "And popularity ratings show that capes who are known just for being serious don't market so well. Miss Militia is a lot more popular than Chevalier and the only extra trait that's been pushed is her patriotism."

"Don't ignore the fact that she's an attractive, powerful, woman. That wins her points with a number of demographics." Mark pitched in as he started flipping through files on a tablet.

"All advantages which Arsenal here shares." Lindsey commented as she went to read around Mark's side. She wasn't tall enough to look over his shoulder, and Mark obligingly held the tablet farther to the side.

"Except the patriotism." Chuck commented blandly. Then he blinked twice, tilted his head, and turned to face me fully rather than continuing to inspect my costume. "You aren't actually really patriotic, are you?"

"Not particularly." I answered dryly. "Freedom of speech is nice, and I love the fact we're not a dictatorship, but beyond that?" I shrugged hoping that properly conveyed my apathy. To be fair, given that the laws of my nation had seen me locked up for three months they should just be grateful I wasn't moving to Canada.

"Teenagers." Chuck muttered rolling his eyes.

"Yes, we tend to not care about institutions that don't really do anything to help us." I bit out. "But I'm sure you get plenty of that, working with the Wards." I gave the idiot my best condescending smirk to emphasize my point.

Shirou's chuckling and Mark's surprised laugh mostly drowned out Chuck's spluttered growl.

"Spunky, we can work with that." Lindsey muttered as she tapped her pen against her chin. "Though we'll want to properly direct and moderate it or you'll do your image more harm than good. Do you have any other skills, talents, or hobbies not related to fighting?" She asked.

"I'm learning to speak Japanese, and I'm a pretty good cook." I offered with a shrug. Beyond that… well I don't think they would be impressed with my skills in English lit.

Lindsey only hummed and made a note on a pad she pulled from somewhere.

Sick of standing and being eyed up and down by three grown adults I claimed a nearby chair and leaned back in it.

"Not a lot we can do with the Japanese... Though the cooking might have potential." Mark murmured tapping something into his tablet. "Her powers are going to be the biggest stumbling block."

"Well so long as she doesn't stab someone it should be alright. Blunted weapons, and things without blades?" Chuck fired back. I realized at that moment that they were talking around me now. "Broken bones and heavy bruising aren't ideal, but it wouldn't be the first time. Plenty of heroes cause damage like that."

"Yes, but that's no reason to encourage one more to do the same." Mark frowned. "The less we see of that the better."

"Mmm." Lindsey hummed. "There's also some notes here about knives that pin people by their shadows. A little disconcerting to see in action I'm sure, but if the results are as advertised it'll be a real crowd pleaser. We'll want to talk those up. Probably include them in any toy lines."

"Still going to be a hard sell with the public." Chuck drawled. "Blades getting thrown about? People are going to _react,_ not think. Might actually be easier to deal with broken bones now and again."

"You say that now, but she can augment her strength for a low brute and mover rating." Mark mildly rebuked. " _I_ could break bone with a crowbar and a decent windup. If she's not careful she could do a lot worse, blunt weapons or not."

I scowled a little. They had damn well better not expect me to do all my fighting bare handed. If they seriously asked me to try that I'd walk.

"We _do_ have a training dummy for exactly this purpose." Lindsey stated with an air of long suffering. "Several in fact. Assign her mandatory training time with one and move on."

" _That's actually a suggestion I can get behind. Figuring out exactly how much force I need to break bone or not sounds like a good plan."_ I poked the thought in Shirou's direction.

"Point." Both men agreed with Lindsey in sync.

" _It still seems like a waste of time to me, but if it will keep people from complaining and further disrupting your training, I suppose it won't be a complete waste."_ He grudgingly admitted. _"Though you are still getting stronger as you continue to absorb me and train. You'll need to practice regularly or else one day you might accidentally do far more damage than you intend to."_

I nodded and turned that thought over in my head. My rapid growth spurt seemed to be slowing down now that I was coming up on six foot. But my non-reinforced speed and strength was starting to leave high school athlete behind and edging into junior Olympian territory now. If Shirou was to be believed, and he was, he was only a low tier heroic spirit and he could leave Olympians in the dust.

Some of that was magecraft. How much though…. that was hard to say. Even harder to say was how strong I would get independent of using reinforcement. My situation was just so _different_ from Shirou's it was hard to even guess.

Idly I traced my practice knife and started going over a particularly difficult trick I hadn't quite mastered yet. I let the rhythmic click-clack fill my head and push aside idle worries about just how much my body, and mind, were being changed. I'd had my freak outs ages ago and worked through them. Dredging it all back up wouldn't do me any good.

My brief moment of moving meditation stretched on as I went through a number of tricks until I felt centered and calm again.

Then I opened my eyes to find all of the PR stooges staring at me. The boys both looked horrified while Lindsey was giving me a pursed lip look of disapproval.

"What?" I asked sharply.

"Well, it's just…" Mark trailed off obviously having trouble putting his thoughts into words.

"That's got to go." Chuck declared flatly.

Lindsey's pursed lips turned into an outright frown as she glared at her college and Mark palmed his forehead as he groaned.

"Don't give me that." Chuck growled. "You know I'm right. Dancing around it won't do us any good."

"Look it's only a practice blade." I flicked it open and slapped it against my palm before holding up the knife and my hand for inspection. "See? Perfectly safe and non threatening."

"That isn't the issue, Arsenal." Mark spoke as he rubbed at his temples. "Knives, especially small blades like that, are associated with Jack Slash."

My deadpan glare didn't deter the PR trio in the slightest.

"Even if they weren't associated with that man, small blades are simply not heroic." Lindsey chipped in. "They are the calling cards of low level gangsters. Looking farther back they are most associated with assassins, backstabbers and even such unpleasantness as ritual murders."

" _Got to admit I'm surprised she even knows about ritual sacrifice."_ I only knew about them because I had a few daggers used for just that.

" _Maybe she has an interest in ancient history?"_ Shirou offered absently.

I rolled my eyes for all they were worth. "And swords and spears and arrows were the weapons of war before guns were invented." I waved them off. "I make weapons, knives are _not_ my go too. They are a lot riskier than keeping an opponent at a distance, but that's no reason to write them off."

"Swords and spears might have been weapons of war, but that's not what people think about when they see them." Chuck shook his head. "They have been romanticized over the years. People see them and think of myths and legends. The brave knight that slays the evil dragon, the noble hero fighting against the evil empire." He waved a hand grandly.

"And what exactly do you think said evil emperor was fighting with? Harsh language and bad breath?" I shot back scathingly. "There are just as many, probably more even, legends of cursed blades used by great betrays that thirst for blood." I should know, I had quite a few of them.

"But it's not what people think of first." Mark pointed out. "And we've wandered from the point. We can't have a Ward using knives."

"Look, this," I held up my butterfly. "is my stress ball. I use it to vent and calm down. There's no blade on it, and my therapist hasn't shot it down. You don't want me playing with one on national television? That's fine, but I'm not giving it up because it'll make me less popular."

"Arsenal, this isn't about what your therapist considers acceptable this is about the public." Mark frowned.

" _Right, I'm not dealing with this bullshit."_

"I'm supposed to be here about my debut? I passed my ridiculously easy competency test yesterday." I blatantly changed the subject before leaning back in my seat and idly spinning my knife.

It really had been a simple test, common sense plus a few memorized regulations and procedures. According to Jason my real training would be a mix of team sparring matches, and on the job instruction. He seemed to think I was being rushed through the system. He was probably right. Everyone involved in my case knew I'd been more than patient, and just how thin that patience had become near the end.

After that meeting with Legend, he had probably told whoever he needed too to start hacking through the red tape before I decided to start doing my damndest to shake things up. The Protectorate wasn't even twenty years old, the Wards newer still, and despite how quickly they'd gotten set up and spread out as an institution they were barely out of the cradle. They were popular, they were powerful, but for all their posturing they were young, only two years older than I was! And that made them not half as secure as they might like to be.

That's why my backup plan was an actual threat. I was walking evidence of a catastrophic failure of the Wards program. And the idea of a cape working as a part of the regular police department? If I could actually pull that off and survive for even just a few years it would undermine their entire organization, and the PRT as well. If a cape could be a regular cop, why would you even need a separate organization? And if the Protectorate couldn't even handle one of their probationary Wards? Well maybe a more established agency was the better option after all.

So yes, I probably was being rushed through the normal bureaucratic bullshit in order to keep me relatively happy. I had no doubt Mr. Chambers really did have a number of worst case contingency plans sitting on the back burner in case I decided to try scorching the earth on my way out the door. But the fact those contingencies were even necessary, and they had made a point to try and dissuade me from the attempt by telling me about them?

That a threat cooked up by a nearly sixteen year old was taken so seriously by some of the biggest names in the business really said it all didn't it?

"Arsenal, you can't just ignore what we're telling you. Your image is important. The Protectorate and Wards need to be presentable and personable." Lindsey stated firmly. "Conveying the wrong image can do all kinds of damage to both your reputation and the Wards in general."

"Look it's nice that you three seem to take your jobs so seriously, but you seem to be laboring under the misconception that you can stop me." I said flatly. "You don't want me waving this thing around in front of the press, that's fine. I can do the whole stoic hero bit for the camera, or be a sarcastic bitch if you want me to appeal to teenagers, or whatever PR nonsense you cook up so long as it doesn't make me want to stab someone. But if you seriously expect me to drop a hobby that I enjoy and doesn't hurt anyone, then you're out of your minds. You can't exactly stop me after all."

As I finished speaking, I started tracing butterfly knives that were clasped closed and began juggling them just to really drive the point home. I actually had five going for a few seconds before the timing got away from me and I dispersed them all.

Chuck and Lindsey both looked chagrined, and Mark looked like someone had murdered his puppy. I was unsympathetic.

"Now, I've got powers, a name, a costume, and I'm supposed to debut soon. So... how are we going to go about introducing me?"

They didn't like having a teenager they were supposed to be getting ready dictating terms and reminding them to stay on task. However, they did recognize a lost cause when they saw one.

Listening to them argue in circles about how to present me for an hour before they really started coaching me felt like a bit of petty vengeance. Still, I could deal with that if it meant they didn't bother me about my butterflies again.

 **{}{}{}{} Friday Taylor's room on base.**

The box with my costume came with all the bells and whistles. At least two copies of everything except the helmet, and a selection of jackets for every type of weather.

As I laced up the final boot and shrugged on the jacket meant for fall weather, I had to marvel at the feel. My traced versions of this outfit had been passable but I didn't really know anything about clothing. This fit me like a glove and didn't hinder my movements at all. There were no points where it pinched or pulled. I grinned as I stepped out into the ready room.

"Well? How do I look?"

Dani squealed and clapped excitedly, Lilly grinned broadly and shot me a thumbs up after looking me up and down. Fred and Jason both nodded and favored me with barely upturned lips. Taking in their positive responses my smile finally broke fully free.

"Very professional." Jason spoke up. "Not that your mockups were _bad_ , but this is just a step up from them."

I nodded back agreeably. "Yeah, making swords and spears did not prepare me for making clothes."

"So, you've got the gear, and a name… When can you hit the street?" Fred asked as he leaned back against a couch.

"I've got to show them I've mastered the art of hitting people without breaking bones first." I shrugged. "The practice dummy they set me to working with is a huge help, but it's taking me a while to really get it down considering how they have me practicing it with a bunch of different weapons. Still, I'm supposed to debut on some morning show on Monday."

"Wait, are you going to get introduced on Good Day New York?!" Dani shouted as she leaned forward getting right up in my face

"Umm, yes?" I leaned away from the girl but needn't have bothered because a moment later she jumped backwards to flop on a nearby couch where she started to pout.

"Lucky." She grumbled.

Jason rolled his eyes before clueing me in. "She's a big fan, watches it all the time."

"It's not fair! How come I didn't get to be introduced that way?" She bemoaned into a throw pillow she'd pulled over her face.

Lilly reached over the back of the couch to consolingly pat the more energetic girls' knee. "Because you would have spent the entire sessions fangirling and never answered any of their questions."

Dani only grumbled in response to that. Shaking my head, I turned to head back into my room.

"Give me a minute to get changed, I've got a stir fry recipe I want to try out and I'm not getting my costume dirty the first time I ever put it on."

That caused a cheer to go through the group, I rolled my eyes as I realized Dani was the loudest despite being grumpy not ten seconds earlier.

"So, question!" I called through the door.

"Shoot!" Jason's voice came back clear enough.

"What's the deal with us having our own ready room as opposed to all the Wards just… I don't know, sharing?"

"Well... all told we've got twenty seven Wards right now. You stick a dozen late teens in the same room as a bunch of thirteen and unders and sooner or later someone's going to snap and start a fight. That's bad enough when all you have to worry about is worn tempers and hurt feelings, but with a bunch of capes?"

"Kablam!" Dani shouted to emphasize her boyfriend's point.

"Yes, that." Jason dryly agreed. "Considering all the differences in how they treat the different teams and age groups it all just makes for even more things for people to start fights over. Really, they just can't afford to have us all at each other throats like that when we're expected to work together. Keeping us all separated like this cuts down on the tension and makes us something the kiddy group can work towards and wait for rather than a group of people they resent."

"Plus, there's differences in how we deploy." Fred called. "Lancers leave from the roof; Army takes the streets and we have a straight shot to the subway bikes. Having the ready rooms near our exit of choice makes things simpler."

"Huh, alright then." I answered as I pulled on a t-shirt.

"You'll meet some of the others as you get trained." Jason spoke back up. "Joint ops are pretty common so we all practice together regularly. Next one is actually scheduled for two weeks from now."

Slipping back out of my room I got four looks ranging from hopeful to careful disinterest.

Rolling my eyes, I headed for the kitchen. "One of these days I'm going to order some shitty pizza just to see the disappointed looks on all your faces." I called over my shoulder.

Dani's offended squawk and Fred's bark of laughter had me grinning as I pulled out ingredients and pans.

 **{}{}{}{} Monday, 9am stage for Good Day New York**

The set was nice enough. A glass coffee table and a big wrap around couch made up the most of it. The two hosts Sara and Ben were dressed fairly nice and I was in my costume.

Lindsey was flitting about behind me seeming to appear and disappear from one side to the other in random intervals, or whenever I blinked. How she kept dodging my attention was a question I was beginning to find annoying.

"Remember, light and cheery for the most part. You're glad to be here and serious about hero work." She repeated for the umpteenth time. "A snarky comment or two about a villain of group is alright, but nothing about the PRT or Protectorate. That would just undermine the idea that you're excited about being a hero."

I nodded absently to show that yes, I was paying attention to her rant even if I could recite it by heart at this point.

"If they ask you about yourself keep it vague. Details that can lead back to your civilian identity should be avoided, but don't lie. This will be recorded and all over the internet within the hour. Any lies could be caught out later, and that's never worth it."

I hummed an agreement.

She opened her mouth to repeat some other bit of advice but the hosts waved me over.

"That's me then." I cut her off. "Wish me luck." That said I moved and sat opposite the two hosts on the couch. They nodded politely and gave shot me warm smiles as I settled myself leaning back into the cushions slightly with my hands in my lap. Professional, maybe a bit relaxed but still professional. Just like I'd been drilled to sit…

" _I hate public relations bullshit."_ I thought even as I smiled back at the hosts. Not that I had anything against them. I just didn't appreciate the whole thing being a production instead of just acting like myself.

" _You signed up for this because it was better than being a solo vigilante. This is part of that package deal."_ Shirou lightly chastised me.

" _And I'm sure I'll appreciate that much more once we get to the parts of the package, I joined for instead of all the bullshit it comes with."_ I flatly replied.

One of the techs working the equipment called for quiet. "And we are live in five, four, three, two-"

"Good day New York!" Sara chirped happily.

"Today we have the pleasure of introducing the city's newest Ward." Ben cheerily picked up.

"So please give a warm New York welcome to, Arsenal!" Sara finished off my introduction.

Gamely I leaned forward to look into the camera lens. I gave the audience a jaunty little wave before sitting back in my proper PR sitting position. "Pleasure to be here Ben, Sara." I said with as much false confidence as I could muster. Honestly the whole being on camera for who knows how many people to watch was making me stupidly jittery. I'd give just about anything to be allowed to play with my butterfly knife right now. But I'd threatened to attack Legend's life work to his face before. I _would_ handle this.

"So," Ben leaned forward a bit resting his arms on his knees. "I suppose the first question on everyone's mind is what are your powers?"

"Mmm, that does always seem to be the first question people ask." I smiled lightly. "I'm afraid I'll be keeping most of my tricks up my sleeves for now. Knowledge _is_ power after all, but I suppose a small demonstration wouldn't spoil too many surprises."

I held out a hand to my side and traced a basic gladius before dispersing it. Then I traced a dirk, then a mace, a kite shield, quarterstaff, tonfa, bow, katana, rapier, then I finished off with a collapsible baton which I twirled for a moment before I dispersed it as well.

"You project weapons?" Sara asked sounding both confused and surprised.

"Yes, I do." I nodded favoring the show hosts with a smile that screamed 'I know something you don't know'.

"Forgive me if this sounds impolite but," Ben started to ask.

"How does that make me any more dangerous than anyone else who picks up a weapon?"

"Yes." He had the grace to at least look sheepish.

"Like I said, I'll be keeping my tricks up my sleeves for now. No point in giving the criminals a heads up."

"Not even a little hint?" Sara asked playfully.

I gave her a little chuckle in response. It was only slightly forced. Despite my nerves the casual tone the pair had set was calming me down. "Sorry, you'll just have to wait for PHO to figure it out. Though I will say that people should see me down by the water soon when I go to practice my archery."

"Why by the water?" Ben asked.

"It was the best option." I answered without answering.

Sara huffed lightly and gave me a mild pout. "We're just going to have to wait to find out, aren't we?"

I only grinned cheekily.

"Alright then, how are you liking the Wards? And Which Wards team are you a part of?" Sara asked redirecting the conversation.

"I've been placed on Siege squad. I'm still getting a feel for the organization as a whole," I diplomatically sidestepped talking about my issues with the Wards program. "but I like my teammates. They've all been good about helping me adjust."

"Adjust how?" Ben asked.

"Lots of ways. There are plenty of things I need to learn as part of the Wards, the city is new to me, and really just having people around who can see where I'm coming from has been amazing."

"You're not from New York?" Sara asked.

I shook my head. "First time in the city was a little over a week ago."

"What do you think of the Big Apple so far?" She asked.

"Big. _Really_ big." I answered solemnly. "The number of capes and gangs is just ridiculous, not to mention how spread out they are. I've been working my way through all the relevant files, and its no small pile. If you want my opinion on the city itself…" I shrugged. "I haven't seen much of it yet. I checked out a few of the tourist spots when I first got here, but other than that it's been paperwork, training, studying and meetings."

"No school?" Ben asked curiously.

"Ah, well, my life got a bit… _complicated_ , after I got my powers. The PRT are looking into tutors to get me back up to speed, I'll have to work through the summer, but I should be going back to school next fall." I grimaced a bit and couldn't fully keep my distaste out of my voice.

"You sound, less than thrilled about that?" Sara asked kindly.

"School and I have had a very _toxic_ relationship since I started high school." I chose my words with the utmost care. "I'd personally prefer taking all my classes online or something, but I'm not sure that's an option. The Youth Guard pushes to keep us all in regular schooling whenever possible."

"Not a fan of the Youth Guard?" Ben asked lightly.

I blew out a breath and leaned back. "That's a very loaded question." I answered carefully. "I think they're hearts are in the right place, but I honestly don't think they do much good. And in the process of trying I think they anger a number of the people they are trying to protect. For example, my issues with public school. More generally I find it presumptuous and offensive that people who have never met me think they know what's best for me, and others in similar situations."

I shrugged but soldiered on before either host could get a word in. It's not that the Youth Guard was the biggest axe I wanted to grind, but I'd heard enough from the others and found enough of their frustratingly bullshit rules sprinkled throughout my manuals that I was going to take my shot at them anyway. Besides there was a lot of overlap between my issues with them and my issues with the Protectorate.

"I joined because I believe law enforcement needs all the help it can get, and I know I can provide some of that help." I stated firmly. "I'm sure right this moment some Youth Guard member is pointing at the screen and declaring this as proof I've been manipulated by social pressure and Protectorate propaganda. And they are saying I'm too young and naive to really understand and make such _grown up_ decisions." I spoke with scathing sarcasm.

"Well they're idiots. I grew up in a world where Parahuman gangs running chunks of a city is the _norm._ Where criminals can get away with murder if they're powerful enough. I don't need to be eighteen to know how messed up that is and want to change it. If the Youth Guard really wants to spare _innocent children_ from _shouldering such heavy burdens,"_ I mockinglyenunciated _._ "they can get off of their buts and join the PRT, or police, and actually help deal with the root of the problem instead of chasing a symptom."

Ben leaned back fully into the couch and gave a long low whistle. Sara looked at me wide eyed.

"But the Youth Guard work hard to keep young children out of dangerous and traumatic situations." Sara quickly reposted. "They do a lot of good work making sure children are not exploited."

"And how young is _young?"_ I asked calmly. "Am I young until I turn eighteen? I'm a few months shy of sixteen now. Will I be young until my next birthday? The vigilante act _is_ a thing, and it makes no mention of age. Does that mean the government only considers capes children when we are under their oversight?" I spread my hands out inviting their retort.

"It's very easy to point out flaws in the system, but I notice you aren't offering a better alternative." Ben countered skeptically.

"I did say they should join the PRT or police." I smirked briefly before I suppressed it. "I don't have all the answers. I doubt there is anything close to a perfect solution. But I joined to put away criminals and keep people safe. I believe that I'm mature enough to make that decision and understand the risks associated with it. My Dad agrees even though it scares him." I shrugged. "I can't think of anyone better able to make that judgment."

"Not all parents are really fit to make that kind of judgment." Ben countered, though he kept his tone neutral enough that I couldn't be sure if it was a general statement or a pointed dig. "And I'd be hesitant to accept any teenager's opinion on their own maturity."

"Then you aren't listening to them. You've made up your mind, and nothing they do or say will change it. And if they can't prove you wrong why bother trying? Especially when they can just go and do whatever it is behind your back?" I grinned. "Teenagers and adults do this cycle all the time with all kinds of things. Sometimes the adults are right and sometimes the teen is. The trouble is you don't really _know_ which way it'll go until it's all played out."

Sara looked slightly flummoxed and Ben just shot me a skeptical look.

I had to wonder if Mom would be proud of me or frustrated. She had been a feminine rights activist who ran with Lustrum way back when, so the idea that I was using logic to argue against an ingrained societal opinion would probably make her proud. The fact that her teenage daughter was arguing that society should give teenagers more say in what they were allowed to do would likely have her telling me I was turning her hair grey. The smile that train of thought brought to my face was the first honest one I'd had since the show started.

Ben shook his head slightly before looking to the camera. "Ahh, well, we're about to go to commercial, but we'll be right back with more questions with our cities newest Ward."

The green light above the camera man switched off and the red one next to it turned on. Immediately a stage hand came up with three bottles of water. The hosts declined but I gratefully accepted the drink.

Lyndsey came marching up right behind said stage hand and actually sent him scurrying for cover with a look. Given she was all of maybe five foot five I thought it was fairly impressive. Although it could just be that stage hands lived in constant fear that they would be fired over anything.

"Arsenal, what on earth do you think you are doing?!" She seethed.

I took longer than was strictly necessary to swallow a mouthful of water as I gathered my thoughts. "Projecting the image of a hero who takes their job very seriously and is also intelligent, witty, and has a healthy streak of teenage rebellion. All things you insisted would be good for my popularity and agreed came naturally enough to me so as to actually work rather than coming off as bad acting." I dutifully replied.

The woman actually growled. "Not by taking shots at the damn Youth Guard! Do you know how much of a fuss this is going to kick up with them?!"

I sighed. "Look, you insisted I not take shots at the Protectorate, the Wards, or the PRT. You never said anything about the Youth Guard."

"Because it should have been obvious! They get offended over everything." She shouted.

"Well unless they can give a logical argument that doesn't boil down to my age then all they are doing is proving my point." I shot back. "And when they come calling feel free to tell them I said so."

Lyndsey actually growled before marching herself off of the stage. Shaking my head, I took another sip from my water bottle.

"I've got to hand it to you, Arsenal, you've certainly got guts." Ben sardonically praised as he leaned back. "I can't imagine that will win you any points with your bosses."

"Probably not." I admitted with a light chuckle. "But while we're off the air I can say that I think they could use a few good swift kicks in the pants. You want things to get better you need people to come along and rock the boat from time to time."

Ben only hummed lightly in response.

"You would have made a good investigative reporter with that attitude." Sarah offered with a shake of her head.

"I'll keep it in mind if the hero thing doesn't work out." I chuckled.

"Five seconds!" One of the techs calls. The red light started to flash before it switched off with the green.

"And we're back." Sara smiled warmly. "For those of you just joining us now this is Arsenal, the city's newest Ward. Arsenal, if it's alright, I'd like to ask more questions about you personally."

Obviously, she wanted to shift to lighter topics. I nodded agreeably. I might want to rock the boat some, but there was no reason to draw too much heat from my bosses all at once.

"As long as you understand I'll need to keep some things vague for the sake of my identity. I'll be happy to answer what I can."

"Well…" Sara leaned back a touch as she thought. "Any hobbies?"

I couldn't quite stop the chuckle at the tone whiplash. "I make it a point to practice with as many different weapons as I can though I won't deny having my favorites, but I'm also a pretty good cook and I'm learning Japanese. The team certainly seem to appreciate my cooking."

"Really, cooking?" Sara asked surprised. "Ahh, not that it's bad, I just… you don't strike me as the type." She shot me a sheepish smile.

I hummed agreeably. "It caught me off guard as well honestly. A lot of my practice is intense, cooking is… oddly soothing. Plus, making something people will appreciate is really rewarding." I smiled faintly.

"You mentioned your father. How is he handling all this?" Ben asked, He leaned forward slightly with an earnest but honest expression on his face.

I blew out a sharp breath. "It's been hard on him. I know he's worried, maybe even terrified. But he stepped up to help support me as soon as I asked. He's thrown everything into backing me up." I smiled, bittersweet at the memory of Dad agreeing to give up on Brockton Bay just to give me the best chance he could. "He's been really amazing."

"Are you nervous about confronting criminals?" Ben asked.

I took a moment to think about how to properly answer that. "I've spent a lot of time preparing for fights." I answered slowly. "I'm getting very good, and I do have a number of tricks up my sleeves. That being said I'm a realist. People get lucky, or unlucky, and guns are not going to be impressed by my skills… So, I have to be smart, and careful. Capes are such a mixed bag that it's hard not to be nervous about fighting them. So, yes. I am a bit nervous about fighting criminals, but it's the kind of nerves that keep a person sharp, so I'll take them and be grateful."

Ben nodded slowly. "A very mature outlook." there was a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips as he said it.

I grinned back. Maybe he wouldn't just write off every teenager as immature now, or maybe I'd won special exemption status but it either way it was nice to have it acknowledged.

"I think we have time for one last question." Sara smiled lightly. "And I'm curious but we may as well save the internet the trouble of bothering you about it."

"Alright, shoot?" I asked just slightly nervous. If it was something the internet lurkers were likely to ask I wasn't sure I'd want to answer.

"Are you seeing anyone?" I swear the woman actually chirped the question.

I could hear Shirou snickering from the back of my mind, which really only made my sudden blush worse. The ass.

"I- ah, well, no. No, I'm not seeing anyone."

"Got your eyes on anyone?" She asked wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

I looked to Ben for help but he just seemed to be trying not to laugh at my expense.

"No, not really. I've been really focused on preparing for cape life the last few months." Not a lie just not anywhere near the whole truth… "And now… we'll things are complicated now. I wouldn't feel right getting involved with someone I couldn't be upfront with about everything, and that's a fairly small group of people at the moment."

They would probably assume I meant my cape identity. That was part of it, but the bigger issue was getting into a relationship with someone without telling them I had a guy literally living in the back of my head for the time being sounded like a horrible idea. I wasn't about to inflict that kind of mess on anyone without them knowing what they were getting into. And that wasn't even getting into the whole issue of capes being presents from evil multidimensional space monsters. No, I had enough going on right now without chasing after romantic drama.

Sara sighed wistfully, well I suppose that makes sense, but still, you're only a teenager once, don't forget to have some fun." She lightly scolded with a twinkle in her eye.

Ben coughed into his fist. "Well it's been a pleasure to have you with us here Arsenal and we'd like to wish you a long and successful career on behalf of everyone here at the station."

I gave the two host a slightly strained smile. "Thank you, it's been great to be here."


	14. Chapter 12

**AN: Here we go! Now this is the kind of update speed we all want. Me because it means I'm not fighting writers block and you all because it means you get more to read :J anyway I had fun with this one. Hope you all enjoy it too. Think I need to actually get around too Taylor doing a real patrol next time... Man I'm going to need more to work into the next one or it's going to be stupidly short, but that's my problem.**

 **Remember to drop a review if you enjoy what I do, positive responses feed the muse and all that.**

* * *

 **{}{}{}{} Office of Glenn Chambers two hours post interview**

"Arsenal, I know we didn't spend as much time preparing you for this as we normally would." Glenn Chambers spoke with an air of long suffering. "That being said, I _know_ you are a smart young woman. So please, tell me what exactly you were thinking?"

Bored at what had to be the third or fourth repetition of this conversation today I gave the man minimal attention as I instead scanned the walls and display cases of his office. "Serious hero, intelligent sarcastic teen, public relations image people would approve of, yada, yada, yada." I absently responded as I more closely examined a Miss Militia action figure surrounded by a half dozen interchangeable weapons. _"I wonder what weapons my actions figures will come with?"_

" _Bow certainly, some kind of sword, a spear, and probably a shield. Those are the PR safe weapons after all."_ Shirou snarked.

" _Is it bad that I want my own line of butterfly knives in black and red instead?"_ I asked innocently.

Sensei's amused snort. Left me grinning as I turned back to face the now outright glowering Glenn Chambers.

I rolled my eyes. "OK, fine. I decided to poke the Youth Guard with a stick when the show hosts gave me an opening. Heck, they outright asked my opinion. I'll bet money I'm already popular with the teenage demographic. And I'd be surprised if whatever PHO thread I have by now isn't full of insubordinate Wards cheering me on for what I said."

If anything, Glenn glared harder which I took as confirmation.

" _You know I think you might be enjoying this just a bit too much."_ Shirou mirthfully pointed out.

" _... Nah."_ I leaned back and waited for Glenn to actually say something.

It took the man a minute but finally he rubbed at his temples and pulled jot a piece of paper as he began to jot down something on it. "Given your stated interest in cooking and your controversial first appearance I was contacted a half hour ago by the legal division of the Food Network. You'll be guest starring on one of their shows, the episode will be filmed next Wednesday. Though it won't air for a few weeks."

Glenn passed the paper with all the details across his desk to me and I took it feeling thoroughly bemused. "Now I have a number of other things to see to." The portly man stated dismissively. "I'm sure you can see yourself out."

Standing I headed for the door even as the gears began to turn in my head and a smirk slipped across my lips. Doubtless this was meant to be some kind of punishment, throw me into a contest I didn't have the skill to compete in and let my embarrassment serve as a lesson. But it certainly didn't have to play out that way.

" _Hey Shirou, how would you like to compete in a nationally televised cooking show?"_

My mentors' immediate chuckles quickly devolved into eager cackles, and my head quickly filled with his mutterings about various recipes and how he might be able to adapt them based on what was and was not available.

I shook my head and made for the elevator. Glenn didn't know it yet, but his punishment had just turned into a reward. I was going to be able to just sit back and laugh myself silly while Shirou had a ball showing off. Really, if I didn't suspect it would cause him to cancel it, I would go back and thank Glenn.

 **{}{}{}{} Streets of New York, Coney Island, next day**

Apparently zoning laws and had gotten involved with my target buoy and instead of the docks it was being set up off the coast of Coney Island. I'd be shooting from the boardwalk straight out into the ocean. This had an added PR benefit apparently because it was a high traffic area and there were already some of those 'pay a quarter to use' binoculars in the area.

I… was not entirely sure how I felt about having such a large audience if I was entirely honest. Part of that was stage fright, but I was also slightly concerned about some random kid getting excited and tackling my leg while I was shooting. Accidental injuries were not something to take lightly. Still, most parents aren't brain dead, and I was strong enough that kids young enough to not know better wouldn't even budge me. It shouldn't be a problem.

Crowds shouting encouragement or heckling though…. That was going to get annoying in a hurry.

"So, they're going to punish you by making you be on some cooking show?" Flechette asked. She had been the only one on the team who was both free and interested in seeing me practice so she decided to tag along for moral support.

"Iron Chef, yeah. Not sure how they managed to get me penciled in so fast." I answered thoughtfully. "Honestly though, I'm more confused about why they seem to think this is a punishment for me. I'm just going to let Shirou take over for it."

Flechette snickered into her gloved hand. "You're going to get out of your punishment by doing your punishment? Isn't that a bit unfair to Shirou?"

I flashed her an exasperated grin. "Hardly, I've never heard him so excited. He's been muttering recipes and cooking instructions for everything from soufflé to sushi ever since we found out."

"Sushi, really?" She perked up.

"Don't get your hopes up. I haven't been able to find the ingredients he would need. Back home I'd have a decent idea of where to look for an Asian market, but I haven't found one here, yet. Never mind that the prices will probably be sky high." I grumbled the last under my breath and shook my head.

She hummed thoughtfully. "I can't think of anywhere off the top of my head, but I'll ask around. Someone's bound to know. And If we can find enough people who are interested, we'll be able to crowdfund the ingredients your need."

"I hadn't thought of that." I admitted. "Think we'll be able to find anyone else interested?"

"Sure." She smiled brightly. "Twenty seven wards, eighteen Protectorate capes, who knows how many PRT troopers and employees. The trick is going to be keeping the group small enough that we don't need to buy out the store, and stick you with hours of cooking… Rolling?" She glanced at me for clarification, but I could only shrug back. I honestly wasn't sure about the proper verb here either.

I was going to say something else before a pair ahead of us caught my attention. Two women, probably in their mid twenties had stopped to share a heated kiss. For a moment my whole world froze at the sight. Then my head snapped all around as I quickly surveyed the crowd. My eyes peeled for angry faces, shaved heads and certain tattoos. I was half a breath away from tracing a weapon… and then I realized that the worst reaction was a few people rolling their eyes as they had to dodged around the couple.

Blowing out a breath I let my shoulders slump in relief.

"Arsenal?" Flechette asked cautiously.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to seeing that." I gestured towards the couple.

Flechette frowned before shooting me what I suspected was an offended look. It was a bit hard to tell with only her lower face exposed.

"I'm from Brockton Bay." I quickly explained because I could already tell what she was thinking.

Flechette's expressions did not clear up. I suppose It wasn't too surprising. There were enough gangs to study here, never mind the ones in other cities.

"Brockton Bay is the home of the Empire 88. The Empire is a Parahuman gang with more capes then the local Protectorate and Wards combined, and enough gangbangers with guns to wage a small war. They're Neo-Nazi's."

Like clouds parting her frown disappeared.

"You'd never see a same sex couple acting like that out in public in the Bay. It would be too dangerous in certain parts of town." I waved a hand at the no longer kissing pair who were now walking along hand in hand. "Seeing them kiss, I was expecting some shaved head moron to jump them, or at least get in their faces."

I shook my head at the cultural whiplash. I really shouldn't have been surprised. This was Legend's town. If there was any city where that kind of discrimination wouldn't fly, this would be the place. Even so, it had caught me off guard. A lifetime of expectations doesn't go away just because logic insists the situation has changed.

"So… You don't have anything against…" Flechette waved a hand vaguely towards the couple who were now stopped at a food stand.

I snorted and shook my head. "Hardly. As long as it makes them happy it's all the same to me."

A small warm smile bloomed on Flechette's face as she gave me a look I couldn't read through her visor. "Good, that's good." She said quietly.

Something about her tone made me feel… not uncomfortable, just… odd. Glancing away I looked around over the heads of a good chunk of the crowd and finally spied our destination.

I wasn't sure why Shirou was snickering, but I decided to be offended on principle.

"There it is." I declared and picked up my pace slightly as I made for the little roped off area. It was bracketed by binoculars on stands to either side spread out a couple meters away from where I was meant to shoot from.

Naturally the fact it was roped off meant that two kids were ducking in and out of it at random and hopping up and down on the little raised podium meant for me to stand on, so the railing of the boardwalk wouldn't interfere with my shots.

"Excuse me you two, I'm going to need that stand you're bouncing on." I squatted down just outside the rope and gave the pair a cheeky little wave.

The two kids were a boy and a girl, maybe six or seven years old. The boy gasped then jumped down and run up to grab the rope between us in his hands.

"Are you a Hero?!" He squealed.

Nonplussed I glanced over my shoulder to Flechette in a silent plea for help. Her impish grin told me I was on my own. I almost asked Shirou for advice but decided he'd be even more clueless than I was. " _Ah, hell. Well, hopefully I won't mess this up too bad."_

"Yup," I answered brightly. Internally I wanted to cringe. I never sounded that cheery, but seeing the little guys face light up… yeah, that was more than worth acting a bit peppy for.

"Are you here to stop a villain?" The little boy whisper shouted.

I made a show of carefully looking around the small but growing crowd. I hid a wince as I caught sight of a few smartphones recording as well as a pair I assumed to be the kid's parents. If I hadn't already hated public relations this situation would be all the justification I would ever need. I was barely trained to fight crime and most of that was self taught. This was not something I knew how to handle.

" _Just keep your head, Taylor. You're doing fine."_ Shirou encouraged.

Taking a deep breath, I leaned in and spoke calmly. "That wasn't the plan, but I will if I see any. Have you seen any villains around today?" I asked as I made a show of scanning the crowd again. Getting a few chuckles from our watchers.

"Nah-uh." He shook his head.

"That's good." I smiled. "I wouldn't want to fight with so many people around, that could be dangerous." I said seriously.

The little boy mirrored my seriousness by nodding back solemnly.

"Are we in trouble?" The little girl spoke up for the first time. She hadn't moved from her place on top of the little stand meant for me and was intently studying her shoes.

" _Can adorableness count as a Master rating?"_ I asked as I all but melted internally.

" _Master 7 or 8, easy."_ Was Shiroe's dazed response.

"No, of course not, sweetheart." I tried for calming, but I was just hoping my voice didn't sound panicked. "Why would you think that?"

"We're inside the rope." She shrugged her shoulders and only glanced up at me before going back to inspecting her shoes.

" _If we could weaponize this the gangs would surrender within the week."_ I internally griped.

I hummed thoughtfully. "Do you know why the rope is there?" Both kids shook their heads. "It's there so that when I practice my archery people know to give me some space. That way no one gets hurt on accident. But I'm not practicing just yet so I don't see why you'd be in trouble." I said kindly.

"Archery?" The little boy spoke up and tilted his head before looking around. "That's bow and arrows, right?" I nodded, and the boy started looking all over. "But where's your target?"

I grinned and stood up. Before walking to the edge of the boardwalk and pointing out to the water. "Do you see that orange circle way out on the water?"

The little boy ran to the edge and even the girl looked out curiously.

"That? But it's so far away!" He shouted.

"Mmm, three quarters of a mile. Still, I'll have to work my way up to the really long shots. But this is a good start." I grinned cheekily.

"Whoa." The little boy breathed out in awe.

I grinned at the pair. "What do you say? Want to watch for a bit while I practice?"

Both kids nodded eagerly and I shooed them towards the now smiling parents.

Glancing around most of the crowd was obviously curious and Flechette was grinning fit to burst.

I stepped up onto the platform and set my feet. I took a shallow breath and traced my bow. It was the same design as Shirou's but smaller. Even at six foot I wasn't tall enough to use Sensei's without the bottom digging into the ground. Not only that, I didn't have enough strength to use it yet either. Still, a three hundred pound draw weight was a good start, and more than enough for me to make the shot I was attempting.

I started reinforcing my body and eyes. I traced an arrow, knocked and drew. Then I paused and took a breath. I watched the waves guessing at the wind speed and wave height. I checked around my target for anything that might get hit if I missed. I let the breath out and released.

The red fletching made a crimson streak out over the water as the arrow flew true and buried itself in the target. I hummed thoughtfully.

"Third ring, high and to the left." I observed idly. "I suppose that's not too bad for a first try at this range." Pounding footsteps towards both the pay a quarter binoculars made me chuckle lightly even as I traced another arrow. The second arrow impacted low in the third ring a few seconds before muffled exclamations came from either side of me.

I stopped for a moment to turn and wave to the two now wide eyes little kids. Then I refocused, put everything else out of my mind, and practiced.

 **{}{}{}{} one hour later**

Slightly sweaty and with my arms shaking slightly from the exertion I plopped my but down on the edge of the platform and sipped from a bottle of water. Flechette had apparently been talking with the crowds while I practiced which I really appreciated because it kept them from bothering me with questions.

Frankly I was amazed she had the patience to deal with so many people for so long. Put in the same situation I'd have likely bailed out or started snapping at people. Waving goodbye to a group of younger teens Flechette ducked under the rope and sat down next to me.

"Man, you were in the zone there. People were calling you by name and you didn't even twitch."

"I didn't even hear them." I admitted sheepishly. "I was just too focused on dialing in my shots."

"Any luck with that?"

"Mmm, last twenty minutes or so I managed to keep them all in the second ring or better. It's good, but not good enough for use on anyone we want in one piece."

She gave me what I assumed was a funny look. "You intend to use a bow and arrow nonlethally from a mile away?" She asked somewhat incredulously.

"Well… remember what I said this does?" I traced a black key for demonstrative purposes.

"Pins people by their shadow, right?"

"Right, now watch this." I focused on the blade in my hand, and it started to shift. The tip of the blade became wider and flatter as the body of the blade narrowed out and lost its edge. The tiny little cross guards flared back sharply and thinned out like fletching. Finally, the handle shrunk, thinned and was notched at the back just like an arrow.

"Tadda!" I proudly declared as I held up my very first modified weapon for her inspection. It was a lot easier than Shirou's achievement of modifying noble phantasms but it was a good start, and I was damn proud of my work. "Making it work will take accuracy I don't have yet. But once I get better, or if I let Sensei take the shot?" I spoke very quietly to make sure no one overheard the last bit.

Flechette whistled appreciatively. "Ok, that's pretty cool. No wonder you're taking this your training so seriously."

For a few minutes we sat in comfortable silence as I let my arms recover.

"You did really well with those kids earlier." Flechette spoke back up.

I let out an involuntary snort. "Sure, that's me alright. Great with kids." I snarked. "I was panicking when the girl asked if she was in trouble."

"But you handled it well." She calmly countered.

I could only shrug. "I'm more impressed with you managing to deal with a shifting crowd for an hour straight."

"I like people." She said brightly. "And I hate being alone. Getting to meet a whole bunch of people, talk with them? It's nice, reminds me why I do this." She gestured to her costume emphasizing the point.

As I thought back to the pair of adorable kids I had shooed off my shooting stand I could see her point. Sensei hadn't really bothered to meet the people he saved, not really. Remembering our conversation about Shirou's journey to become a hero I decided then and there to try and meet the people I protected from time to time. If nothing else it would help keep me grounded.

"Well, time to head back?" I stood up and offered my teammate a hand up.

With a grin she accepted and I pulled her up. "Yup."

"Thanks for coming with me today." I offered as we headed off into the crowd.

"Honestly, it was my pleasure." She responded brightly.

I didn't quite know what to make of someone enjoying an hour of being besieged by crowds while watching me do the same thing ad nauseum, but I certainly appreciated the sentiment.

 **{}{}{}{} Wards ready room Noon the next day.**

Humming I followed Sensei's directions as I prepared a hearty beef stew. We were both a bit disappointed at the lack of a crock pot which added some difficulty to the preparation. Mostly I just had to keep a close eye on the water level and stir a bit more frequently so nothing settled and burned. I'd be done well before the others got out of school. And this would be really easy to reheat later on.

The alarm warning me to mask up caught me by surprise but I didn't hesitate to trace a domino mask for myself before sticking my head out of the kitchen and into the main room.

The door slid open to admit a couple of men in suits and a trooper who was only carrying the standard utility belt. The lack of foam tank was a bit weird but whatever. Suit number two looked vaguely familiar. I think I'd met him when I got moved into the base.

" _Johnson."_ Shirou helpfully supplied the man's last name for me.

"Yo, you three need me for something?" I asked as I stepped fully into the main room.

"Arsenal, I presume?" Mystery suit asked.

"That's me, and you are?"

"John Tanner, I'm the head of the local Youth Guard chapter." He said with, what I think was supposed to be a kind tone of voice, but really came off as mildly condescending… Or maybe I was projecting… Meh.

"Right, well, I've got food on the stove so I'll just assume you can see yourself out. Later." I could hear the trooper snickering as I turned on my heel and went back to the stove. Shirou's chuckles were also fairly pronounced. Taste testing the soup I decided it could use a bit more salt and tapped in a few shakes before I resumed stirring.

A cough from behind me drew my attention to the now frowning Youth Guard rep who, for some reason, had decided to invade my kitchen.

"Look, I know this might be hard for you to get your head around, but generally the entrance and exit are the same door going in different directions, and you certainly didn't enter through my kitchen."

Now the man was outright scowling. "Arsenal, I'm here to speak with you."

"OK." I shrugged. "But I don't want to talk with you, so you can leave now." The trooper was outright cackling now and Tanner looked a bit poleaxed.

Johnson carefully cleared his throat as he slipped around Tanner and into the room. "Arsenal, the Youth Guard seems to be under the impression that the PRT put you up to your confrontational statements about their organization the other day. Mr. Tanner is here to address their concerns that we are pressuring one of our Wards into making statements intended to undermine their goals."

"And what? You want me to set him straight? You realize I'll probably do that by spending the next half hour insulting him and the Youth Guard?" I turned to face the now steaming Tanner, put a hand to my waist and cocked my hip. "Seriously, do you realize that you whistle blowers are the reason PR doesn't allow Wards to carry tasers? Do you have any idea how much good just having a taser would do for capture rates against normals? Not to mention it would allow Wards to take down criminals from outside of striking range? That alone would cut down on injuries. But you soccer moms are so obsessed with not letting us get exploited that you're actually making our jobs more dangerous."

The man's jaw dropped, and the trooper needed to lean against the doorframe and bite down on his fist to muffle his laughter. I just smiled angelically at the trio.

"I'm all for keeping a bunch of starry eyed preteens from running to their deaths, but that doesn't mean everyone in the Wards is naive about the risks." I shrugged. "Besides which, the PR people are annoyed with me precisely because I decided to take a shot at the Youth Guard the other day."

"What have you been filling this young woman's head with?!" Tanner rounded on Johnson with an incredulous shout.

" _Well, he has enough sense to realize he won't be changing your mind."_ Shirou offered halfheartedly.

" _But not enough sense to think that a teenager can have an opinion that wasn't spoon fed to them."_ I fumed.

"She's only been with us for a bit more than a week. And from all reports she's too much of a spitfire to spout off anything she doesn't agree with." Johnson rubbed at his temples clearly exasperated.

" _Spitfire, really? Do I actually come off that way?"_ I asked.

Shirou hummed thoughtfully. _"I suppose so. You certainly didn't waste any time cutting into this fool."_

" _Huh… alright then."_ I wasn't sure what to think of being considered a spitfire after a year and a half of keeping my head down constantly. I was willing to consider this a positive change though, so whatever.

"You really expect me to believe she's been digging into Public Relations and policy after only a week with the PRT." Tanner scowled.

"Actually, that just came up when I asked if I'd be issued a taser. The conversation sort of spiraled from there." I cut in. "The PR people seemed to think it was all for the best because issuing everyone a taser would interfere with the 'individuality of cape personas.'" I quoted.

The trooper had finally gotten himself under control though he was still smirking. Both of the suits looked like they would prefer I stop talking if for different reasons. It was their own fault. If they didn't want to listen to what I had to say they shouldn't have invaded my kitchen.

"Look if we're done here, the door is that way." I pointed. "I've got a stew to watch, and once that's done, I have homework my tutors assigned that I need to get through. So, if you gentlemen would be so kind as to see yourselves out…"

The Youth Guard rep continued to grumble and rant at the poor PRT suit, but they did in fact turn to leave, so I called it a win.

Taste testing the soup again I frowned. _"Did I add too much salt earlier, or is the water just boiling off and concentrating the taste?"_

" _Little of both I think. Add a cup of water, and throw in half a potato to soak up some of the salt."_ Sensei instructed.

And I got on with my day.


	15. Chapter 13

**AN: Right for those die hard foodies I'm taking a moment to apologize and clarify. The show Taylor will be appearing on is Iron Chef** _ **America**_ **. It will also likely not be what people are expecting because** _ **holly fucking improvisation**_ **I went into this with the lower expectations. I'm never doing this again, fuck cooking battles.**

 **There have been several reviews commenting on the pacing of this story. Full disclosure. This arc got away from me. It was meant to be a more realistic take on Taylor joining the Wards. Normally Wards Taylor fics don't develop her teammates at all, brush aside the entire PR side with maybe a public debut if that, and instantly devolve into Taylor chipping away at the gangs making it seem like law enforcement in general was just sitting on their ass until she joined.**

 **I wanted to introduce her teammates, lay out the political landscape, show her getting actual fighting practice, and in general outline the ideological differences between TayArcher and the system. Also it was meant to highlight that not all capes are happy with the current situation. I've been hinting pretty hard that Jason is more than willing to mess people up if it keeps his team safe.**

 **Like I said, it got away from me. I've cut a number of minor scenes I had planned, but I've still got plans for several more I wasn't willing or able to cut. This update and the next should be the last of that. Tail end of the next update, or possibly the entirety of the one after that, this fic is going to hit the ground running and the tone is going to change dramatically.**

 **Read and Review, folks!**

* * *

{}{}{}{} Taylor's Kitchen: Siege Squad Ready Room: 3ish PM

I groaned from the back of my mind as Shirou continued to dart around the kitchen like... Well a _wo_ man possessed seemed a bit on the nose, but hell it's not like anyone was going to judge me for a joke they would never know about.

The kitchen itself was a strange mix of surgical cleanliness and disaster area. Ingredients, spices, meats, vegetables, fruits, cheeses and lord only knows what else were laid out on every available surface. The central table was the only spot spared, and that was only because it was littered with completed dishes that had been plated and set aside.

By all rights the sink should be stacked to the brim and overflowing with dirty dishes. Shirou had deftly gotten out of any real cleaning by simply tracing every bowl, pan and utensil, only to dismiss them later while holding them over the empty sink. Consequently, the sink was now splattered with at least a dozen different sauces and littered with all kinds of scraps.

Oh, and leaning up inside of an open cabinet was a tablet running a seemingly never ending playlist of Iron Chef episodes.

"Truffle juice," Shirou ranted as he diced carrots. I wasn't sure why he was using them for anything other than color in a salad considering I hadn't heard them being used in at least four episodes, too basic for master chefs maybe? Or was it because they had all been Asian chefs and carrots were more of a western ingredient? I wasn't about to question Shirou about it in this mood. "Who buys just truffle _juice_? I've worked with truffles before, but just the juice? As just _part_ of a sauce?" Shirou's voice was torn between awe and panic.

"Foie gras! I've barely ever used foie gras before!" He ranted as he tossed the carrots in with a soup I had lost track of. "And then they go and use something as mind numbingly generic as _bagels_ or _potato chips!_ Yet somehow it comes out as a high class dish!"

Moving on Shirou slid the bacon wrapped asparagus drizzled with honey out of the frying pan and onto a plate.

"I've never even used an ice cream machine before!" My utterly distraught mentor shouted.

" _You haven't?"_

"Their expensive." He dismissed. "And I could just buy perfectly good ice cream from the store for whatever desert I was making. I baked a lot of desserts!" He defended.

I sort of felt bad for Shirou. He took so much pride in his cooking skill, but the truth of the matter was that regardless of how skilled he was his background was mostly with wholesome dishes. Not fancy, high class artistic tasting menus. He was an amazing cook, but this was like asking a rockstar to sing opera. Sure, some of them could do it, but it was probably going to come out a bit rough around the edges.

The buzzer from the door was actually a relief at that point.

"Oh my God! It smells amazing in here!" Dani's voice rang out clear as a bell followed by the excited stampede of feet. The low whistle could have come from anyone, Shirou wasn't facing the door, but I was assuming it was one of the boys.

If my running count was accurate the table behind me had a salad, two soups, not counting the one still simmering on the stove, three appetizers, two main courses and a desert.

"Uhh, Taylor? You doing alright there?" Fred asked.

"Emiya." Shirou bit out. "Taylor is giving me a chance to practice."

" _Yeah, but you're you've been at this for what, four and a half hours now? I think it's time to take a break, Shirou."_

"This soup isn't done yet, Taylor." Shirou grumbled even as he reached for more ingredients.

" _It has to be nearly done by now, and I swear if you start another dish I'll start singing. You know I can't sing, Shirou."_ I half warned, half joked.

" _Fine, fine. Just let me stay in control while they taste what I made."_ He capitulated.

" _Sure, Shirou. Sure."_ I easily agreed. It was a small enough request, and I could tell how important this was to him.

"Emiya, huh? Didn't really think we were going to meet you properly the way things were going." Jason said with almost the same degree of caution that he'd used when we first met.

"And you shouldn't have." Shirou lightly chided. "The only reason for me to take over would be if Taylor found herself against a truly dangerous enemy before she was ready." He sighed and turned down the heat on the soup.

"But Taylor offered me the chance to compete on Iron Chef in her place. Only I had no idea what I was getting myself into!" He finally turned around and I got a good look at my teammates. Dani was all but drooling, Fred looked nonplussed and Lily and Jason seemed utterly lost. "So once we realized how steep the competition would be she offered to let me practice." My hands went to my sides and Shirou bowed. "Please, sample these dishes and give me your honest opinions."

Dani actually squealed in delight as she clapped her hands in front of her chest.

Fred cut in though before anyone else could speak. "No offense, but I can't eat that much. Not and be good for patrol in an hour."

I could feel my body blink in surprise which prompted a few chuckles from me.

" _You did go a bit overboard, Sensai. Maybe just set out two or three and we'll get their opinions on the rest as they work through it all."_

"I suppose you're right." Shirou admitted with a small sigh.

In moments what was left on the table were the asparagus wrapped in bacon and brushed with honey, and small bowls of crab bisque.

Dani didn't hesitate even a moment longer, probably afraid Shirou would take away even more of the goodies. Biting into the asparagus she closed her eyes, leaned back, and _moaned._

" _Well, I'd say that's a positive review."_ I deadpanned.

"Mr. Emiya, please try not to steal away my girlfriend with your cooking." Jason joked as he bit into his own appetizer. He barely noticed Dani smacking him in the arm as he savored his own bite. "Ok, that's something else." He praised.

Fred nodded happily, and Lily hummed appreciatively as well. My teammates immediately moved on to the next dish. I could feel Sensei spiraling towards depression already.

" _Easy there, Sensai. They're not gourmets, or food critics. Hell, I'm not even sure any of them can cook beyond the most basic dishes, if even that much. Remember when we got here they were living off of take out for their dinners. You can't expect the kind of feedback you're really looking for from them."_

"Ahh, spicy!" Dani mumbled in surprise before gulping down the remaining mouthfuls of bisque in her dish.

"Man, that's good." Fred murmured as he used a finger to scrape up the last of the bisque. "Reminds me of that Cajun food I got when I was down in Florida for a few weeks."

Lily pushed her bowl Fred's way who gratefully dug in. "Bit too spicy for me." She shrugged. "I really don't want to deal with heartburn later."

That apparently was too much for Shirou as he fully retreated leaving me once again in charge of my own body. I shook myself for a moment, then ran a hand through my hair.

"I really need to get in touch with the producers. If this keeps up Shirou's stressing is going to give me an ulcer." I went and shut down the tablet. I'd had quite enough of the show for one day, thank you very much.

"He's that worried?" Lily asked.

"Not that his pride will ever let him admit it, but yes." Shirou grumbled something unintelligible from the back of my mind, but otherwise continued to sulk. "He knows traditional Japanese food, and an eclectic mix of other recipes inside and out. He's had to substitute ingredients plenty of times before as well. But these chefs are people who dedicate their lives to their cooking. Decades of dedicated experience. Good as he is, Sensei dedicated himself to fighting, not cooking." Not that it stopped him from putting ninety eight percent or more of the world to shame.

"So, you're going to call them and… what exactly." Jason asked skeptically. "If they've already got an agreement with Glenn signed off then I can guarantee you aren't getting out of this. And honestly, even if this," Jason gestured to his now empty bowl. "isn't what they're used to, I guarantee it's better than what anyone involved is expecting from you."

I nodded. "I know, I just can't shake what Glenn said. He never said I'd be the challenger, or even that I would be cooking. He just said I'd be guest starring." I felt Shirou's attention _snap_ fully onto my words as he picked apart the alternate possible interpretations.

"So what, like a celebrity judge?" Fred asked.

" _Going to murder that fat bastard."_ Shirou seethed. _"And why didn't you say anything sooner?"_

" _Was only kicking the thought around for the past hour or so, and you weren't really in any condition to listen."_ I fired back before speaking aloud. "Give me a sec. I've got the contact info Glenn gave me in my room."

A minute later I sat at the kitchen island with the rest of my team and my phone on speaker mode resting on the table in front of me.

"Jason Russo, Food Network." The man's words were crisp and to the point.

"Hi, Mr. Russo. This is Arsenal, with the New York Wards."

"Arsenal! So good to hear from you. We're all very excited to have you with us on Iron Chef next week." The man's business tone melted away to something more genial.

"I'm excited as well. Unfortunately, I didn't get too many details when I was informed about the show. I'm hoping you can fill me in on what's expected of me?"

"Of course, of course." He happily agreed. "It's going to be a bit more of a publicity stunt than our normal episodes. Our scheduled guest competitor passed away very recently and we didn't have time to find a replacement. We have someone on staff here related to a Texas Ward who has a passion for cooking and they happened to see your appearance on Good Morning New York. They pitched the idea of having two of our Iron Chefs go head to head instead, with Hotspot and yourself acting as new assistants. Then someone suggested a quick power assisted demonstration from both Wards would make for a good introduction and a chance for the chefs to get a feel for your skill level. The chefs are a bit skeptical, but in general most of us on the staff are very excited about this."

Shirou was silently seething, but I got the impression that was only because he hadn't decided what weapon to murder Glenn with just yet. Dani was scowling, which given her bubbly nature was really only adorable. Still it got across the idea she found this almost as distasteful as I did. Jason and Lily had schooled their faces into neutrality, and Fred was only shaking his head sadly.

"I see." I managed to keep my conflicted thoughts out of my voice, if not off of my face. "Thank you very much for clearing that up for me Mr. Russo. I look forward to joining you all on Wednesday."

"Till then, Arsenal!" And with a click he hung up.

"Figures," Jason hummed. "wouldn't be some PR punishment if it wasn't at least a little demeaning. Though I'll admit, freaking you out by not giving a clear explanation was a bit more sadistic than I expected from Glenn. If he did that intentionally."

" _I'm going to turn him into a full course meal of long pig."_ Shirou growled.

" _Creative, but we both know you aren't serious, so calm down."_ I deadpanned. Grumbling answered me before Shirou subsided again.

"We'll, I suppose it's for the best." I muttered. "Lower expectations mean the fact Shirou actually knows what he's doing should be a welcome surprise to everyone. And the fact that we speak Japanese might mean we get to work with Morimoto-san, which would be really cool."

That idea did seem to mollify Shirou, if only a little bit.

"Still sucks that you guys got all worked up like that." Lily offered, to which I could only nod back.

{}{}{}{} First Patrol 9:30pm: Staten Island

Phantom hummed as she walked along, utterly unconcerned. Her outfit was a black and white skin tight bodysuit matched with black domino mask. The weather was cold enough that she had thrown a matching jacket on over it.

Given what I knew about the area I couldn't say I blamed her for being so carefree. This was essentially a milk run. The Island had only a handful of tiny gangs. The largest of which controlled less than twelve blocks and most stuck to only two or three streets. Compared to Brockton Bay's gangs these jokers were essentially a few dropouts that got together twice a week to practice amateur chemistry. Then they spent the rest of their time waiting for people to swing by and see what they were selling.

It was just so… Underwhelming. None of these groups even had a single cape. Or if they did, they were at the absolute lowest end of the power spectrum, and keeping their heads down. They weren't even expected to have anything worse than pistols.

The whole point of the patrol was to let them know, we knew, they were in the area, and that they should continue to keep their heads down. It was _not_ what I'd always pictured when I imagined patrols. It was also sadly about what I'd expected after going through all the Wards manuals and listening to my teammates.

"Isn't it hard dating Red Hood? I mean, with him being the team leader and all?" I asked.

"Mmm, not really, no." She mused. "Out of costume I'm me, Hood out of costume is my boyfriend, and we're equals. In costume I'm Phantom. When I'm Phantom, Red Hood is my boss. Sometimes I forget and he has to remind me, but I already have to keep parts of my life separate. It's just one more difference between me with, and without, the mask."

"Huh. I figured there would be more drama involved than that."

"There used to be, when we first started dating. I wanted to only patrol with him so we could spend more time together. But it was against regs, and he said he needed to stay connected with the whole team, not just me. I got, pretty catty about it." She mumbled that last bit and looked away.

"So, what happened?" I prompted.

"He told me he was my boss first and my boyfriend second." She snorted. "He really should have phrased that better, I was shouting at him for a while. But once he got me to sit and listen, he cleared it up. He said he was responsible for keeping us all as safe as he could. If keeping me happy meant he was neglecting the rest of the team, then he had to do what was best for the team." She smiled wistfully. "I hadn't really thought about it like that before, and that's when I decided I liked him as more than just a cute boy." She shot me a wide honest smile.

I smiled back. It was a sweet story. Though I had a bit of trouble imagining Dani ever acting bitchy with anyone. Though if she had joined only a bit after her trigger, and they had started dating soon after that? Well it might explain things. Especially if their relationship helped center her.

"What about you?" She asked brightly. "Anyone caught your eye?" She grinned cheekily.

I just shook my head. "Oh sure, there was this handsome male nurse a bit more than twice my age at the mental ward." I snarked. "Honestly, my life was such a wreck before I got powers, I never gave any thought to dating. And now… Well you've met Shirou. Bit of a difficult situation to explain to someone don't you think?"

"You're not even looking?" She pouted.

"Nope." I shrugged.

"Oh, Arsenal." She shook her head. "It's not enough to just save the world for everyone else. You have to make a life you can enjoy for yourself as well."

Before I could comment on that fortune cookie platitude the crash of breaking glass rang through the night and we whipped around just in time to see a guy in a ski mask pull his elbow out of a car window. He was maybe a hundred feet back the way we'd just come. The hand full of people walking on the sidewalk cleared a hole without us saying a word so I got moving. In a few seconds I'd significantly closed the gap and he must have heard my footsteps. He'd just finished brushing glass of the seat when he looked up to see me.

"Hi there. Please surrender so I don't have to listen to public relations complain again!" I said cheerily while holding up a Black Key in each hand. Sure, if he tried to run, I was just going to bury one in his shadow. But he didn't know that. He just saw an obvious cape carrying blades. "Also, only amateurs break the glass." Really, had no one taught this guy anything?

The thing about the whole situation that surprised me the most was him actually putting up his hands and surrendering. No running, no putting up a fight, not even cursing me out or promising his gang would get me for this. Turning to Phantom I just had to ask what seemed like the obvious question.

"Are we _sure_ he isn't a PRT plant just here to make us feel like we did something tonight?" Phantom's uncontrollable laughter and the moron's unintelligible muttering told me the answer was probably no.

{}{}{}{} Saturday afternoon; coffee shop.

Dad only half managed to stifle his chuckles when I finished telling him about my first arrest. "Did you really think he was some kind of plant?" He managed to say quietly through his chuckles.

With a huff I looked away. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. "Come on, guy breaking a car window just down the road from two Wards? He didn't even know how to jack a car without breaking a window." I grumbled. "Think half of Winslow knew how to do it properly."

I wasn't exactly exaggerating either. I'd even seen it done once when I was thirteen. Three guys in empire colors, by the time I realized what they were doing they already had the car started and were piling in. Compared to that? Watching some moron trying to do it on his own, breaking the glass which made a lot of noise, and with people still very obviously walking around, not to mention the two costumed capes... It was just pathetic!

Dad rolled his eyes as he looked through the help wanted ads in his newspaper. "Oh, what a terrible fate for there to be incompetent criminals in the world."

I bounced a crumpled up piece of paper off his head.

"It's not just that." I grumbled. "Any normal police officer could have handled that. Heck a neighborhood watch could have scared him off. The whole patrol was just a show of force. It didn't really _do_ anything."

"Shows of force are important." Dad idly lectured. "They reassure the people and warn off trouble makers."

With an idle sigh I conceded the point and changed the subject. "Anything in there look promising?" I asked gesturing towards the paper.

Dad hummed something noncommittal. "A few middle management positions. Nothing with any industries I'm all that familiar with, but then middle management is more about keeping things moving and supplies stocked then knowing how to do every job. I've got plenty of experience with that."

I didn't really want to ask my next question, but it needed to be done. "What about the house?" I asked quietly.

Dad sighed and for a moment he looked so very tired. Then he offered me a small smile. "Nothing to do about it just yet. Not until I have a job here. Once I do." He trailed off for a moment, then shook his head and pressed on. "Once we're settled here, and have everything important from the house, I'll put it up for sale. Probably through an agent so I don't have to keep running back to the bay any time someone makes an offer."

I'd known the answer was coming, but it still hurt to hear it. Dad reached across the table to take one of my hands in his, he gave it a light squeeze. His face told the story better than our awkward words ever could.

"Sorry." I looked away.

"Don't be." He smiled. "Sometimes life throws us curve balls, and there aren't any perfect solutions. The most important thing to do when then happens is to just keep moving."

Doctor Yahmada had told me something like that before too. So, I took a deep breath, mustered up the best fake smile I could manage, and asked Dad which job looked most promising.

{}{}{}{} Iron Chef Kitchen Stadium.

I stood off to the left side of the hallway leading into the stadium, my back against the wall as a group of assistants swarmed about cleaning every surface and stocking ingredients. Sous chefs bounced around the vegetables checking for freshness.

Not three feet away from me, almost bouncing with nervous energy, was Hotspot. The Texas Ward was far more excited for today's events than I was. From his earlier babble I got the feeling that more than Glenn and whatever person on the staff of Iron Chef had pitched this idea, Hotspot had the greatest share of the blame for this. Simply put, the idiot was a fanboy. Worse he was a fanboy with an _in_ on the show. I'd already handed over control to Archer just so I wouldn't have to actually talk to the idiot.

I might enjoy cooking, and I respected the talent and skill that went into it, but I wasn't nearly invested as Shiriou. Certainly not as much as Hotspot.

We had been run through a walkthrough of how the episode should go several times in the past hour and a half that we had been here. Now it was just a matter of waiting. That and listening to Shirou run through a list of dishes that might suitably display his skill.

Finally, we were told to take our places and the staff cleared out. Hotspot and I stood side by side and waited in silence. An aid waved us in and we were met by the chairman, Mark Dacascos.

"Arsenal, Hotspot. Welcome, to Kitchen Stadium." He said grandly playing things up for the cameras. He offered the pair of us a handshake which we both gamely accepted. Then he looked past us at an angle and started talking to the camera.

"In today's world where any individual may find themselves gifted with tremendous power it takes true courage to stand in the defense of one's fellows. Today we have two such brave protectors from the Wards program. Hotspot, of the Texas Wards, and Arsenal of our own New York Wards." He spoke with an affected crispness that couldn't possibly be normal. "Both heroes who have found ways to use their powers for the noble art of cooking. We here at kitchen stadium find this to be a very worthy endeavor, and have invited the two of them here today to compete in a unique competition."

Turning on his heel he headed for the cooking stations and stopped just as we reached them.

"Today's contest will see each Ward paired with one of the Iron Chefs who will then go head to head for the first time in the history of Kitchen Stadium! However, the Iron Chefs have understandably high standards. Therefore, before we can get to the main competition our guests must prove themselves to the chefs!" As he finished speaking, he gestured towards the front of the stadium. There, standing on pedestals, the three iron chefs were suddenly illuminated by spotlights.

In spite of myself I had to admit it was an impressive sight. I could feel my body shift as Shirou stood straighter.

"Our guest competitors will have one hour to prepare whatever they can as a demonstration of their abilities and specialties to our chefs. However, as an added hurdle our Ward competitors must use their powers to prepare their meals. Hotspot," He looked my fellow Ward in the eye. "you will be restricted to using your powers to produce heat for cooking."

Hotspot visibly gulped but nodded none the less.

"Arsenal, you will have to produce any cooking implements with your powers."

Shirou nodded seriously. We had expected exactly this sort of gimmicky bullshit, but honestly it would only make things easier on Shirou.

"Well then, in the words of my uncle, alle cuisine!" He made a chopping motion between the two of us and we were off. I could feel Shirou reinforcing my body lightly for just a slight edge in speed.

Ten minutes of dodging around cameras and someone with a microphone who's name I hadn't caught was standing across from Shirou asking questions.

"So, Arsenal, how are you feeling so far?" Random question guy asked.

Shirou, in true form, only grunted something as he continued to work.

" _Hey, none of that. Remember you're pretending to be me."_ I lightly scold him.

With a small sigh Shirou shot a painfully fake, sheepish expression towards the camera. "Sorry, I'm glad to be here, but the pressure has me on edge."

"Understandable." The man nodded. "What are you working on to show your skills to the Iron Chefs?"

Shirou hummed lightly. "Because I'm working on my own, I've decided to keep this fairly simple so I don't risk running out of time. I'm going for one main dish and one side dish."

Shirou paused a moment to wash ground beef off of his hands before starting to prep some carrots.

"For the main dish I'd decided to do an alteration on Hamburg steak based on American ideas. Rather than vegetable oil and cooking sherry, I'll be using whiskey and butter. I've had a few real steaks cooked with those ingredients and I think they'll complement the garlic and worcester sauce nicely."

"That sounds delicious."

"I certainly hope so." Shirou grinned. "For the side dish I'll be serving carrots roasted with honey, rosemary, garlic powder, salt and pepper."

"I'm sure the chefs are all looking forward to your results." And with that the man moved away to speak with Hotspot.

Shirou didn't pay too much attention to what was being said instead focusing single mindedly on his work but I didn't have that issue. Honestly it was mostly just Hotspot gushing about how thrilled he was to be there. Eventually the guy with the microphone got him to explain that he was preparing knoephla. Which I had never heard of before. Apparently, it's a potato dumpling soup.

I wasn't hearing any indication of improvisation or changes to the recipe he grew up with, but then again it smelled delicious, so I fully intended to look up the recipe to try for myself someday.

When the timer buzzed Shirou had four plates ready. One for each chef and one for the chairman. Each plate held a single 'steak' and two cooked carrot slices laid alongside it. Hotspot had his soup laid out in bowls ready and waiting as well. The two of them shared a nod and shook hands.

{}{}{}{}

Shirou stood stiffly at attention. His emotions radiated to me. He was confident in his skills, but also nervous and excited. These chefs dedicated their lives to their cooking. He wanted their approval; he wanted his abilities to be acknowledged by some of the best.

The chefs and the chairmen took their first bites, and Shirou took a deep breath standing even straighter.

Bobby Flay broke the silence with an approving hum. "That's good. The whiskey comes through really well and gives it a nice flavor. Not really sure about the worchester sauce though." He took a second bite and closed his eyes. "Maybe less… or swap it out for something that would better compliment the Whiskey… then again a different whiskey might go better with the worcester... I like it, but I'd want to play around with the recipe a bit."

"See, I'd say it could use just a bit more garlic and butter." Michael Symon spoke up. "I think that would really tie this together more. The carrots are fantastic."

Bobby and Symon started a bit of a back and forth as they tossed ideas between each other and lightly bickered.

"It is a very pleasant adaptation." Chef Masaharu Morimoto spoke in Japanese and gave Shirou a slight inclination of his head. "I think it could be improved further with a bit of experimentation, I would recommend a smoother whiskey, but it is a very tasty dish."

Shirou bowed to the Japanese cook and responded in his native language. "Thank you. Perfecting it may be a bit difficult until I can convince someone to get me whiskey to cook with, but I'll certainly work at it when I can."

Chef Morimoto's face broke into a surprised smile at the sound of his native language. He even gave a slight chuckle at Shirou's response.

As Shirou straightened he turned to chef Flay and Symon, who's conversation had been cut off as they were surprised by Shirou's use of Japanese. He gave them both a smile and a nod as well.

"Thank you, for the praise and suggestions. As I was just telling chef Morimoto, I'm looking forward to perfecting the recipe, once I can convince someone to buy me the whiskey to cook with." My mouth quirked up in a small grin that very quickly gave way to a pleased smile. All the tension had bled out of my muscles now, and sensei felt much more at ease.

The chairman thanked Shirou for the food and dismissed us so they could judge Hotspots dish.

Shirou bowed once again to the group and stepped back.

" _You ok Shirou? When they started suggesting how it could have been better, I thought… well you took it really well."_ I asked carefully.

" _Taylor, do you know how long it has been since I've gotten constructive criticism for my cooking? I honestly don't know, and that's not even counting the time I've spent as a counter guardian. I can still improve my cooking!"_ My almost giddy mentor enthused. _"They liked my cooking and offered me suggestions to make it better. They couldn't even agree on the best way to improve it! I get to figure it out on my own by playing around with the ingredients and ratios!"_ He sounded genuinely excited by the prospect.

I chuckled lightly at his uncharacteristic enthusiasm. _"Alright then, but we're not cooking it more than once a week. Otherwise the others will get sick of it no matter how good it is."_

{}{}{}{}

Hotspot and I stood side by side at the base of the small staircase which culminated in the podium for the secret ingredient. Shirou was standing at ease. Hotspot stood ramrod straight with his hands at his sides.

"The Iron Chefs have seen your skills." The chairman declared. "They have conferred amongst themselves and come to a consensus."

Spotlights sprung to life beneath two of the three podiums. They circled around never quite illuminating the chefs but doing an excellent job of drawing attention.

"Hotspot, you will be working under Iron Chef… Flay!" The chairman declared with a dramatic gesture.

One set of spotlights centered on the now grinning Bobby Flay.

"Arsenal, you have been selected to work with Iron Chef… Morimoto!"

The spotlights circled in to show the smiling Masaharu Morimoto who gave a polite nod. Shirou's grin was wide and honest as he gave the Iron Chef a respectful bow.

The Iron Chefs stepped down off of their podiums and moved to stand by their chosen Ward.

"Now that the teams have been decided it is time to begin today's cooking challenge. Today's secret ingredient is… MANGOS!" The chairman dramatically gestured to the black box which rose into the air on wires displaying a table absolutely covered with mangos.

"Now, for the second time today, in the words of my uncle… alle cuisine!" He chopped the air and the Iron Chefs raced up the steps and started loading mangos onto trays.

Chef Morimoto placed the tray in the middle of the workstation and began to bark orders. Not rudely or even overly demanding. It was simply an order and he expected it to be followed. "Start preparing these. I want an assortment of cubes and slices. Save the skins, we'll be able to use them as garnish."

"Yes, chef!" Shirou answered and set to work making quick work of the pile of mangos. Thin and thick slices and large and small cubes swiftly built up into a handful of piles. I could feel Shirou reinforcing a bit more strongly than he had earlier. It still took a few minutes. There were a lot of mangoes.

"What next, chef?" Shirou called out.

Chef Morimoto looked up from the rice cooker he had just finished setting up and nodded approvingly.

"Prepare the soup. Juice two limes, then puree it with plain yogurt, two cups of orange juice, and some of the largest mango cubes. Sample it to taste, then bring it to me for approval. Once that is done set it in the fridge to chill! We'll float some of the mango skins atop it like a boat and use some of the smaller slices to mimic oars."

I could feel a thrill go down my spine as Shirou got excited about some part of his orders or another.

"Right away, Chef!"

In a blur of work and taste testing the ever improving soup. Shirou finally brought it to chef Morimoto for approval. The forty five minutes remaining warning had come just a few minutes earlier so we were probably doing fairly well for time.

The chef took a moment to sample Shirou's work before approving it with a hum and small nod. Then Shirou was off setting it to chill in the fridge.

"Can you work an ice cream machine?" Chef Morimoto called out as he continued to prep ingredients for what I assumed would be sushi rolls.

Shirou actually winced. "In theory. I've never worked with one before, but I made it a point to watch several tutorials and read up on them."

The Chef seemed to mull this over for a moment before nodding decisively. "That will just have to be good enough. Can you handle the recipe on your own?"

"Yes, Chef." Shioru answered.

"Very well. When you plate the dish I want two scoops to a bowl, or rather one full round scoop and a half scoop or so leaning on the full scoop. Garnish it with one of thinner slices of mango along the outside edge of the bowl and sprinkle shredded coconut over the half scoop."

"Yes, Chef!" Shirou actually slowed down as he worked on the ice cream. Knowing the theory and having actually done something were not the same after all but he still moved with conviction and at a good pace.

Shirou had in a stroke of inspiration he'd run past the Chef. He decided to use a fresh coconut for the shaved coconut topping, and thrown the milk in with the ice cream. He spent the next few minutes splitting his attention between shaving off bits of the soft coconut flesh and eyeing both the ice cream machine and Chef Morimoto.

The chef had assembled the ingredients for what looked to be the first of two sushi rolls and… I wasn't quite clear on what he was setting aside bits of a few fruits for but it must be for something.

"Arsenal how are you feeling?" The commentator with the microphone asked.

" _Where the heck did he come from?"_ I asked. The guy had actually caught me off guard. I suppose I was getting a bit too focused on this competition as well.

" _I honestly forgot he was here. It's enough of a pain just keeping track of the camera people and not tripping over them."_ Was Shirou's exasperated response. "I'm feeling a bit stressed to be honest. I know that Chef Morimoto is giving me some of the simpler jobs, but I don't want to disappoint him."

"Of course, and what are you working on right now?"

"Ahh, well I'm shaving coconut to garnish the mango ice cream that's mixing. I've got more than enough for that, but the chef asked me to go ahead and finish this one off. I assume he has something planned for the excess."

"Any idea what he has planned for it?"

"No, not yet at least." Shirou shook my head in negation.

"Alright well thank you very much we'll let you focus now."

Shirou only nodded absently.

"I'm finished with the coconut, Chef!" Shirou called. A few minutes later.

Chef Morimoto nodded almost absently as he started work on… Two sauces? "Good put the excess with the other fruits." He gestured to the small pile of carefully cut fruits off to his side. "Let me know when you have the ice cream plated."

That took a bit. Shirou was nervously fidgeting from foot to foot waiting on the ice cream machine well past the thirty minute mark. I could tell he wanted to dive into some other task, but he'd been given his instructions and he was sticking to them like glue.

The ice cream finally came out some time around what I guessed to be the twenty five minute mark. Getting it plated and 'presentable' took Shiro far longer than I'd have thought but then again, he was being quite the perfectionist in regards to presentation which wasn't something he normally worried about. At least not to this degree.

"Finished, Chef!"

"Good, put those in the fridge to keep them cool then come here."

When Shirou reached the chef's side I could see several half prepared plates and dishes. The sushi plates each held four pieces two of each type though I couldn't readily identify the types of rolls he had prepared. Next were plates holding tuna steak slices that had been seared along the outside but left mostly raw. Finally, was a single prepared plate holding…. A very minimal fruit salad from the looks of things. Little slices of at least seven fruits and with some of the freshly shaved coconut dusting the dish as a whole.

"This part is as much art as anything." Chef Morimoto spoke softly. "Watch carefully." The Chef proceed to carefully ladle sauces onto both the sushi and the tuna steaks. The man carefully rotated the circular plates as he dripped the sauces with a hand so steady even a surgeon would approve. The bright colors of the sauces stood out starkly against the clean white plates.

I was impressed. Shirou was, if anything, a bit giddy at the up close demonstration of skill.

The Chef finished the sushi and tuna platters with some garnish. Then nodded decisively before gesturing to the empty plates next to the completed fruit salad. "I'd like for you to attempt to match the first one."

Shirou grinned and set to work trying to make each plate identical to the chefs. When he was finished, he looked up at the chef and was met with not only an approving nod. He was also handed a small pot and a spoon.

"Chef?" He asked even as he accepted the implements. A quick look proved that the pot held a vicious light gold fluid.

"Sugar water, and honey, boiled down to make it thicker. Show me you were paying attention when I added the sauce to the other dishes." The chef spoke formally.

Shirou stood up straight, and nodded seriously. He took a few moments to think it over carefully before deciding what he wanted to do.

With careful movements he lightly drizzled the simple syrup over fruit salad, and then the plate as a whole. The result was a golden spiral with evenly spaced gaps between the lines. Chef Morimoto nodded in approval and gestured for Shirou to continue as the man moved away to collect the ice cream and soup from the fridge. The last three minutes were spent carefully floating boats of mango skin with little mango slice oars atop the thick mango soup.

When the timer buzzed the two iron Chefs met between the work stations and shook hands. Shirou and Hotspot followed their lead.

{}{}{}{}

Apparently Shirou shared my knack for creative cursing.

" _All that work. All that effort and we don't even get to hear what they think of my cooking! What half brained spawn of a dead apostle thought this would be acceptable!"_

The taste testing was actually done in a separate room and somehow Hotspot and Shirou had been relegated to making the cooking stations sparkle for the closing scene of the episode. We would have to wait for the episode to air if we wanted to learn what the judges said it seemed.

Frankly, I didn't even know how good the judges were. Shirou hadn't spared them so much as glance during the competition and I'd only seen and heard a little about them. The judges included some actress I'd never heard of before, the manager for the Mets, and Ursa Aurora of the New York Protectorate. I had to wonder if she'd ended up on Glenn's shit list somehow too, or if she was genuinely some kind of foody. But yeah none of them were even food critics so really how reliable were their opinions in the first place?

" _Sorry, Shirou."_ I shot back.

" _It's just not fair!"_ the grown man riding shotgun in the head of a teenage girl complained. It was a true test of my willpower not to point out that of all the unfairness the two of us had been through since we met _this_ was what had him complaining like a child.

{}{}{}{}

It took Hotspot, Shirou, and a small group of assistants about twenty minutes to make kitchen stadium shine again. It was another ten minutes before the judges, chefs, and the chairmen returned.

The stage crew positioned Shirou and Hotspot next to their respective chefs on either side of the gap between the cooking stations.

"This has without a doubt been the most unorthodox cooking battle in the history of Kitchen Stadium." The Chairman spoke formally. "Never before have two of the Iron Chefs gone head to head in such a manor. Not only that, but rather than a pair of sous chefs who are familiar with the chefs, each side had only a single assistant. Both members of the Wards with a passion for the culinary arts. Untested, with no formal training, and having never worked under their respective chef before the Wards nevertheless proved themselves highly capable."

" _Man, he can really spin up the drama."_ I idly commented. It was really kind of impressive.

"Both teams represented themselves well." He continued. "But in the end, there can only be one winner… The winner of today's cooking battle is… Iron Chef… Morimoto and his assistant Arsenal!"

The numerous staff broke out into applause. Shirou radiated pride and joy. The Iron Chefs shook hands. Hotspot and Shirou followed suit. Then Chef Morimoto and Shirou exchanged bows. Shirou's sense of joy and pride spiked even hire.

If I had control of my lips right then I'd have smiled. There was something satisfying about feeling the normally stoic Shirou radiating such strong positive emotions. When we first met, he had been thrilled that he would finally be able to fade away, to escape Alaya. But here he was happy, thrilled, almost childishly so, about something he had accomplished with his own hands.

Right then I decided to honestly thank Glenn for this. Giving Shirou this opportunity before he was too far gone. This was a memory I planned to cherish for years. It was the least I could do for the man who was giving up everything for my world and I.


	16. Chapter 14

**AN: there was going to be a five paragraph rant here about how pissed I am with Wildow's truly ridiculous portrayal of gang politics now that I've done just some cursory research on the subject. Suffice to say I've calmed down but am still pissed. Realistic portrayal of a superhero setting my ass.**

 **On the delay in this update. I've gone back and forth tossing and rewriting a bunch of minor scenes, and have spent something like three weeks fighting with two seperate colds.**

 **More than that though I quit my job and started a welding class. God, I am so much happier already! Fuck my last job, and viva la welding career of the future! The class leaves me with plenty of free time, but it's thrown my schedule out the window which has fucked my sleep schedule and… well you get the idea. I'm working to establish a new equilibrium with time set aside specifically for writing, but I'm not at that point yet.**

 **Last thing, I'm going to be time skipping pretty heavily. It's time to start pushing forward more.**

 **Well, that all said, done, and out of the way... Enjoy the update folks.**

{}{}{}{} New York City, Queens, 5:30 pm

This partrol was going a bit slower than my first. Because it was earlier in the day we were having to navigate more foot traffic. Also, people were actually stopping to talk with us. That was… weird. Honestly a bit nerve wracking too. You'd think people would be more intimidated by a guy pushing six foot in gunmetal grey power armor, maybe the yellow highlights really did make him more approachable?

Gigawatt wasn't all that talkative during patrols. So far he had mostly spoken up to point out the edges of gang territories, and to quiz me on enemy capes. Which was fine. Professionalism was something I could understand. Heck I even approved of it. Only, after spending hours chatting lightly with Phantom during my first patrol… I kind of missed the small talk.

I was used to it just being Shirou and I. Mostly… There were people I had talked with at the asylum, but that wasn't the same. Anything still beat the hell out of being all on my own like before. But now that I really did have people I could talk with, I was starting to crave it, just a bit.

Still, companionable silence was nice in it's own ways. I didn't have to struggle to drag out more inane things to discuss, or summon up interest for topics I didn't care about. So in that way it was more relaxing than Phantom's well meaning chater.

Plus there were no repeating conversations. People tended to rehash the same things over and over again. Given enough time. The repetition tended to wear at my temper for some reason. Though maybe that had something to do with having to answer the same questions to three or more psychiatrists for months on end?

Todays patrol had us meandering through Queens. The big name for capes in the borough was the Adepts. Though they lacked the kind of A list heavy hitters I grew up with in Brockton Bay, they more than made up for that with quantity and creativity. Fifteen capes was an even match with the Empire at the height of their power. Compounding that was their policy of pushing their capes to compete for rank. The constant jockeying for dominance kept them sharp, and made them crafty.

The adepts had taken a novel approach. They didn't hold territory or push product. Instead they offered themselves as anti cape security for other gangs. It was a touchy relationship because many of the gangs had affiliated groups in other sections of the city. And all the gangs in Queens were jockeying for territory amongst themselves. If the Adepts were ever seen as taking one side over another they would likely be ripped apart by dissatisfied customers. So they had very strict rules. They could be hired to guard shipments or as diversions against vigilante and PRT actions. They always stepped up when the Teeth made a push into Queens because none of the gangs wanted those lunatics to have a solid foothold in the area. Bad enough they had a sect in Brooklyn.

It had a lot of interesting knock on effects. The people who knew how to run a gang did so, and the adepts got the benefits they _really_ wanted in exchange for minimal work. Because the adepts were big obvious and flashy, they managed to suck in most of the burrows new villianus capes. This heavily limited the number of capes the Gangs got direct control of, which in turn limited gang violence to mostly what normal people were capable of on their own. Just their existence kept things more stable.

There were plenty of gangs in the area. More than thirty gang territories, though I wasn't clear on how many gangs controlled more than one territory. But it managed to be fairly calm in spite of that. With most of the superpowers concentrated in the Adepts, the gangs were hesitant to make themselves enough of a nuisance that the NYPD might call in Protectorate support. It wasn't common, but when Gang wars sprung up the NYPD wasn't shy about asking Legend for fire support. That tended to end with whole groups being dismantled, _quickly._

So once again we were really only out here to show the flag. If we were insanely lucky we might inspire some poor unfortunate to join the Wards or Protectorate before the Adepts managed to win them over. Not that it couldn't happen, but it was just… there were damn near two and a half _million_ people living in Queens. The odds of us making such a positive impact on the one or two who might trigger in the next year or so? I got it. Really, I did. If they never saw us here then they'd think we didn't care, and suddenly the Adepts would seem like the only sensible option. We needed to make these patrols from time to time. But I wanted to be doing something with _immediate_ results. Not play for long term investments.

"Your hometown didn't have a professional baseball team, did they? " Fred asked after we finished talking with a wave of… I actually couldn't tell if they had been tourists or locals. Huh… it was usually pretty obvious back home, just look for the people who weren't watching the crowds like hawks. I'd have to work on that. Here people were a lot less wary. Not oblivious, they still kept eyes open for pickpockets and the like, but it wasn't the same knife edge tension you got in shady parts of the bay. More like the boardwalk back home.

"Nah, nothing like that. I think there was a minor league team way back? But I'm pretty sure that went under before I turned ten." I shrugged. Baseball was… it was ok. I didn't really have any strong feelings on it one way or another.

"Damn, everyone should see at least one professional game." Fred shook his head. "But hey, you're in New York! I'll talk to Hood. Maybe we can swing tickets out of the team budget. Make it a team outing." He grimaced for a moment. "Might have to do it in costume though so they can justify it as a PR stunt. Ugh, no. Cheap seats in civies would probably be better, even if we have to pay for ourselves."

"Couldn't we just watch a game in the ready room, on the big screen?"

Fred shook his head sadly and clucked his tongue. "Oh, Arsenal. You poor sheltered child. Of course you could watch the game on TV, but that's not the same as _being_ there. You want to experience music the way it's meant to be you don't just buy a CD. You go to a concert. Same idea here. It's louder in person, more real, and you'll never get the feel of an excited crowd from a screen. You'll only ever get that in person."

I hummed noncommittally but didn't dismiss what he was saying. Not like I'd ever been to a concert either so I didn't really have a frame of reference. It could be fun.

Gigawatt groaned and raised an armored hand to rub against the side of his helmet. "Shit, I was really hoping we could make it through this patrol without them nosing in."

"Trouble?" I straightened up and started scanning the crowd.

"Not the kind you're hoping for." He growled. "The adepts recruiting officer. Who we don't have enough evidence to arrest. Damn it. She's going to give you her sales pitch. Brazen, cocky..." he trailed off into muttered expletives I couldn't quite make out.

"Sure we can't arrest her?" I checked.

"Hood asked at the last team leaders meeting a week ago. No evidence she ever committed any crimes. Were not even sure if she's a cape."

"Lovely." I muttered.

The short woman who approached us was decked out in business casual, all black, and hid her face behind an old comedy theater mask. She carried an intricately carved ebony walking stick, topped with a light purple crystal that had been cut and smoothed into a small orb.

"Gigawatt, a pleasure to see you again!" The approaching cape called out. The civilians didn't seem concerned but they did move to give us a bit more space. Apparently this wasn't unushual. "And Arsenal, a pleasure to meet you!" She said with seemingly genuine cheer.

"Sly, what do you want. I know I told you to stuff your offer." Gigawatt growled.

The woman waved him off with the hand not holding her cane. "Well it was always a longshot. The Protectorate just has more to offer to techwizards such as yourself."

One eyebrow hitched upward under my visor. Three months ago I would have scoffed about the crazy woman talking nonsense… but she wasn't exactly wrong. Still, there was a reason I didn't call my powers magic.

Namely people are assholes and anything that isn't a hard fact gets you ridiculed. Not that anyone else actually _knew_ how powers worked.

Oh you have a growth in your brain that lets you fly? That's cool, how? You don't know? So can I call it magic? What do you mean magic doesn't exist? You're literally flying unaided, what the hell else am I supposed to call that? Super powers? How is that a better label?

Of course I'd have been part of the nameless masses mocking me a few months back, so I didn't really have a lot of ground to stand on.

"No, I was hoping to have a discussion with Arsenal. She seems far less prejudiced against the truth behind our abilities." How the hell did she know that? A blind guess, or a thinker power? "I have to say my compatriots and I were very interested in your magic, Arsenal. Perhaps we could offer you some pointers that the limited mindset of the Protectorate ignores." Sly's voice hinted that there was likely a smile hiding behind her mask.

" _Well, damn. How do I respond to that?"_

" _Just tell her the truth."_ Shirou's response came with a hint of sardonic amusement.

" _Magi-bable… I feel like I'm going to pay for this, but it sounds so worth it right now."_

"Thank you, but my magecraft isn't on the level of True Magic." I humbly replied. "I can see how you might have come to that conclusion. I am working up to manifesting a Reality Marble and those are supposed to be almost on the level of True Magic. Still, I've a long way to go yet."

To her credit Sly only canted her head to the side for a moment as she gathered her thoughts before responding.

"That's an interesting distinction. I can't say I'm familiar with it either. What separates magecraft from True Magic?" She asked with genuine curiosity.

"Magecraft is anything which could be accomplished by mundane means. True magics are things which surpass such limitations, complete mastery of alternate dimensions, for example. There were several more complicated explanations, but that was the one which made the most sense when it was explained to me." I shrugged.

"Fascinating, and a Reality Marble?"

I smirked and shook my head. "I'm afraid I'll have to keep that to myself. Can't very well go and give away all my secrets."

Sly tsked, but nodded, conceding the point. "I must say it's a very pleasant change of pace to meet someone in the Wards who isn't in denial about the nature of their abilities for a change. Dare I hope this means you would be interested in my groups offer to aid you in refining your magecraft?"

I had to give her credit for so quickly adopting my terminology. Granted, I doubted it changed her personal opinions, but to humor me about it was an excellent negotiating tactic.

"While I appreciate the offer, all I really need to reach my full potential is practice. Well, practice and self reflection." I frowned as my thoughts drifted to my still horribly incomplete aria. "Still, that will come with time." I declared dismissing the topic.

Sly sighed, but nodded graciously as she accepted my answer. "Well, it was delightful speaking with you, Arsenal. Should you change your mind or even just want to chat feel free to look me up on PHO." With a negligent wave she passed us by and moved on into the crowd before disappearing down a side alley.

Finally I turned to look at Gigawatt who just stood there mouth hanging open, just slightly. I shot the boy a grin and shrugged.

"Magic? Magecraft?" His voice sounded ever so slightly strained.

I swept my eyes over the crowd who were starting to move in close enough that I was certain they would hear now.

"That was how it was explained to me after I got my powers." I said amiably. "That man has never given me any reason to doubt his words." I carefully alluded to Shirou without giving a name the crowds could potentially look for. "Besides, calling it a superpower isn't really any more scientific than calling it magic."

"Arsenal, I build machines." Gigawatt dryly stated.

"Which no one can understand or recreate." I answered glibly. "I'm fairly certain part of the scientific process requires multiple groups to achieve the same result by following the same process."

Gigawatt just growled and started walking again. Being gracious in victory I let the topic drop and fell in beside him.

{}{}{}{} Taylor's room, Wards HQ, 11am

Reading through the PRT's case files on S-class threats took less time than I had imagined. Granted I'd skipped over the Endbringers, Heartbreaker, Nilbog, and the Slaughterhouse Nine because Shirou and I both felt fairly certain the Entity wasn't any of them.

We couldn't be certain, but it seemed unlikely. I'd read through them later. When I wanted months worth of nightmares. The Endbringers were obviously alien and overwhelmingly powerful, but there was only one entity, not three. The rest I already knew as human threats.

" _Ash beast seems possible, but it doesn't feel right."_ I mused as my knife danced through the air. The rapid click of metal on metal keeping time with my thoughts.

" _Mmm for something so flashy to be aimless doesn't seem right. But with something so alien we can't rule it out."_ Archer responded.

" _Not the three Blasphemies. They're crazy, but pretty clearly human. Not to mention they always flee once one of their bodies goes down. Getting all three at once would be the trick. Otherwise they just don't stack up in terms of power."_ I mused.

" _Butcher is also out."_ Shirou spoke up. " _Their history is too well documented. We_ know _they are human. Though I do find the nature of their abilities worrying. If the entities are collections of power granting shards, the Butcher could be a nascent entity."_

" _That's a disturbing thought. Think we'll just have to plan on using rulebreaker and hope for the best in that case."_

" _I'm not going to be happy until we have a few more details than that. As well as a backup plan."_ Shirou declared dryly.

" _Not the Fairy Queen."_ I was confidant she wasn't our target. Though given what I knew about the entities from Shirou, recordings of her rambling about fairies took on a whole new light. I was fairly certain that Glaistig Uaine was very much aware of the entities and their cycle. Even if she had misinterpreted their nature.

" _No, not her. If we could play into her delusions she may prove helpful though."_

" _Maybe, but with any luck she'll stay in her kingdom under the hill and we won't need to find out."_ We subsided into silence after that. Neither of us wanting to mention the last of our prime suspects. Finally I gave in and voiced it. " _... Sleeper."_ It was a very resigned and weary declaration.

Shirou grunted back. " _Let's… let's just hope not."_

" _I don't know if we can. He seems like the obvious answer. Not that I have any idea what we could do about him. And if not him then who? Honestly, who would that even leave?"_

Shirou sighed. " _I don't know. It's possible it's keeping a low profile, or maybe it's not even active. It's a multidimensional monstrosity it could just… stay away."_

" _Then how the hell are we supposed to kill it?!"_ I snarled. " _And if it is here keeping a low profile how do we find it? If it's running some sort of stranger power, or even just blending in, how would I even recognize it?!"_

" _You'll know it."_ Shirou spoke levely. " _Alaya and Gaia want this thing dealt with, and they reshaped your powers to do it. This thing is alien to humanity and Earth. It can't hide that from you."_

" _So, what? I'll just be able to sense it?"_ That sounded stupid, and conveniant, and ridiculous. But I remembered how Shirou's initial info dump had resonated with me. How in spite of how insane it had sounded, I'd believed him. Because something in me _insisted_ it was true.

If Alaya wanted to mess with my head so things went smoother… why stop there?

Shirou contented himself with an affirmative hum.

" _...This is a mess, Sensai. If I ever get the chance I'm going to deck my_ 'patrons'." I growled the last word. " _Leave saving the world up to a single teanager and a heroic spirit to mentor her, with barely any information at all! Damn it all, if they want me to save the world would it have killed them to stack the deck a bit more in our favor!"_

" _We'll find a way, Taylor. It's not impossible."_

With a groan I tossed aside the knife I'd been playing with and flopped back onto my bed. Maybe it wasn't impossible. And I certainly wasn't about to give up without even trying… but damn it all, I wish it was easier.

{}{}{}{} Brooklyn, 6PM

The feel in Brooklyn was a bit like what I'd come to expect from the more dangerous areas back home. People went about their days with their heads on a swivel, but didn't go tense until they saw groups in colors.

Problem was there were more colors in Brooklyn than we had in the whole of the Bay. The biggest name was the local branch of the Crips, or I should say branches. No wait, they called them sets. There were more than a half dozen sets. Two of those sets managed to hold sizable territories with a few satellite holdings as well. The remaining sets seemed happy to handle a street or two and leave the more ambitious work to others.

Thanks to a few heavy hitting capes and a bit of cooperation the various Crip sets had pushed out a number of their rivals, most notably the local Bloods, though they were too prone to infighting to actually secure a monopoly. As a result the Brooklyn Most Wanted, and Money Gang, had carved out decent sized territories not too far from the Crips largest holdings towards the North East of Brooklyn. There were still a couple dozen unconnected small holdings around those largest territories that either had outside backing, or didn't make enough noise for anyone to bother squashing. And if you got farther away from those major hotspots there were opportunities for those who didn't want to get in the middle of such a risky pissing match.

The NY Branch of the Teeth tended to poke everyone and in general throw fuel on the fire, so Brooklyn was generally just a few incidents shy off outright gang war.

Simply put, it was a mess. A very dangerous and unpredictable mess.

"God, I hate Brooklyn." Red Hood growled under his breath. "This place is just a quieter Chicago." My team Leaders costume was mostly a dark Grey leather biker outfit with the notable exception of the bright red hood and lower face mask. All together it was a very intimidating look.

"How so?" I didn't bother to look at him as I asked the question. I was too busy watching the crowds.

"It's a breeding ground for gangs." He answered dismissively before elaborating. "New groups pop up at least a couple times a year, and the smaller groups go under or get wiped out just as often. The only difference is the violence gets mostly limited to short intense bursts. In Chicago it would be never ending low level shit, a shooting a week, minimum for an area this big, with the same violent bursts whenever things boiled over."

"Whenever you talk about Chicago I get the impression that I don't want to go there, Boss."

"Good, that means you've got sense." He sighed and shook his head. "Honestly just be glad we're not police, Arsenal. At the end of the day our job is a lot simpler. We don't have to know shit about gang politics, or organising stings, or anything like that. We see someone in a costume pulling shit? We smack them down. We get called in to help clear some place? We follow orders and get it done. We see a crime in progress? We stop it. Nice and simple."

I hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose so. But I'd rather plan drug busts then do PR patrols."

Red Hood let loose a surprised chuckle. "Fair enough, But I don't have the head for that. I sat in on a planning session like that once."

His tone changed to a heavy drawl as he imitated someone else. "How many people can we expect on site depending on the time of day? What kind of civilian foot traffic can we expect depending on the time of day? How long will it take to transport our people there? Given we know they have lookouts on street X, Y, and Z will they have enough time to realize we're coming for them and evacuate before we can initiate the operation? Are there any nearby buildings we can quietly get people and gear into beforehand so that we will have people on site from the beginning?"

Hood waved a hand and went back to speaking normally. "Just like that. On and on and on for a couple hours. That just isn't me. Put me on the ground and tell me my job. I'll leave the planning to someone else thanks."

I didn't say anything. I suspected that had more to do with experience and training than anything to do with Hood's capabilities. Even if he had been an active cape for a few years he wasn't quite eighteen. I seriously doubted he got the kind of training a police chief would have had over the course of their career before getting placed in charge. But maybe he was just happier being in the action with general guidelines to follow. Not like there was anything wrong with that.

Though what he was saying was… it was throwing me for a bit of a loop. Not about his preference for action over planning. More about how much went into it, and how many groups there were to contend with.

I'd always assumed getting rid of the capes would get rid of the gangs. Because back home the capes _were_ the gangs. But were they really? New York had lots of gangs with no capes. And a lot of gangs with capes weren't run by them. Management and super powers did not apparently go hand in hand. So if I got rid of every villain in Brockton Bay what would happen?

The ABB would fracture. They only got so big because Lung combined a bunch of smaller gangs by force. The Empire would probably break apart as a few of the Lieutenants scrambled for their own piece of power. The Merchants would likely implode and start infighting until either a few groups were left standing or they wiped themselves out.

Then it would be down to letting the police do their jobs and pitching in with patrols. That or go full vigilante breaking into gang operations and destroying them without a warrant.

So… No. getting rid of the capes wouldn't fix the Bay.

Having the cities only capes acting with regular law enforcement would help, but even then the police wouldn't just wake up one morning and say, "Today we remove the gangs!" They would plan out every bust in meticulous detail and be sure to take everything into account. Likely including just how many people they could cram into the local prison system.

" _Fixing things is a lot more complicated than just putting away all the villains."_

" _Of course."_ Archer answered glibly. " _But that is for others to worry about. Your job is to focus on nonstandard threats. Clear them from the field so others can do their job."_

" _Even when clearing the field throws everything into chaos and fighting?"_ I couldn't help but imagine the Bay ripping itself apart as three gangs devolved into who knew how many factions, all fighting one another.

" _Protect yourself, your allies, and the innocent before all else. Long term effects can wait when there are lives on the line in the present."_ Shirou's voice was calm but firm. " _Beyond that? If you're given the choice between two tumors, cut out the cancerous and leave the benign alone until it becomes a problem. You can't fix all societies problems on your own."_

I blew out a breath and walked in silence for a time as I turned that advice over in my head.

" _Thanks, Sensai."_

{}{}{}{} Wards ready room

The five of us sat around the coffee table which had been commandeered to hold a detailed map of roughly a quarter block of Queens and a map of Queens in general. There was also one of the standard threat assessment pages showing a sneering male with tanned skin tone who looked to be in his late teens or early twenties. His costume, if it could even be called that, was just a leather jacket and purple bandana over his face.

"This," Jason tapped the threat assessment. "is Step. He is the only cape in what is a relatively new gang out of the south side of Queens calling themselves the Pot Shots. Now normally the gangs operating in Queens have the brains to keep a low profile, but no one clued these idiots in. What really put them on our radar though is that we just got confirmation that they have been dabbling in human trafficking. We're not sure where their victims have been ending up, but we know they've been nabbing people who go missing. Usually followed by some of their known members going on a spending spree."

Jason took a moment to glare at Step's photo before taking a breath and fixing his face into a more neutral expression.

"This one is being run by NYPD, but the Protectorate was asked to provide backup for dealing with Step. The Gang's supposed to be pretty small only twenty five or thirty people, Step included. More importantly for us we don't have to worry about them having backup from the Adepts. They tried to poach Step for themselves and he got violent about it, so the Pot Shots are black listed."

Thirty people and one cape. Not much at all. Unless Step was a solid A lister this wasn't sounding too bad.

"Why didn't the Adepts deal with them? Why just blacklist them?" I asked.

Lily beat Jason to the answer. "Reminding their clients they could be wiped out by a handful of capes is bad for business. Makes the other gangs nervous. The Adepts are good, but they can't risk the gangs forming an alliance against them, unlikely as that might be."

Jason nodded before resuming the briefing.

"Legend has decided to turn this into a practical lessons on cooperation with outside agencies for the Wards."

He dragged his finger across the large scale map of Queens before circling an area and then tapping at the separate close up of the area.

"Now the Gang's main base of operations is this garage here. A few of their people are mechanics so they use it as a cover, and likely for laundering money as well. The guys in intel think the ground floor is clean and the second story is a mix of actual storage for smaller parts, tools, and anything less than legal. They have a couple other spots they use for one thing or another but this is the location Step hangs out in. So this is where we are being deployed."

"Just us?" Scepticism leaked out of Fred's tone.

Jason snorted humorlessly. "Not hardly. All of us, a couple of Army's more experienced people and a few fliers from the Lancers." Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. "Plus Legend will be around ' _just in case_.'"

"That's… so much overkill." I muttered. "What's Step's power? Is he some kind of super trump? A non manton limited telekinetic? Literal killing glare?"

"He's a teleporter." Jason deadpanned.

I waited in silence for my team leader to elaborate. Yes teleporters were dangerous. Oni-lee had more than proven that back home, but he wasn't _just_ a teleporter. Besides, Legend plus at least nine other capes for one teleporter? Then again Step had to be a decent mover, were the numbers just to ensure he didn't escape?

Some of what I was thinking must have shown on my face because Fred started to chuckle.

"Legends a mother hen." The tinker explained with a wry grin. "He doesn't like putting us in danger so whenever something like this comes up where we can plan in advance? He stacks the deck as much as he can, and still makes sure we have someone experienced on hand."

"If SWAT wasn't going to be involved he'd probably be sending a few squads of troopers with foam." Lily chipped in idly as she focused on the more detailed map.

I wasn't sure what to say to that. It was responsible and tactically sound… it also felt mildly insulting. Was that just my pride talking? With a sigh I shook my head and looked back to Jason.

"So, what's the plan?"

{}{}{}{} The Raid

I did my best not to fidget. Standing next to an unfamiliar Ward from the Army squad, going by the unfortunate moniker of Scooter, and a couple of SWAT team members. The four of us were off to one side of the building behind a cop car… I felt decidedly alone.

I didn't know them, not the way I knew my teammates. I really didn't like being sidelined either. But here I was, covering one side of the building with no doors, and just one window, with orders to stop anyone trying to escape.

I had traced a riot shield for my left hand and a Black Key for my right. And now the four of us just sort of half crouched behind the police cruiser. There was another cruiser just a car length away with a mix of regular officers and another pair of SWAT officers.

"Nervous kid?" The officer on my left asked with admirable neutrality.

"I'd feel better if I was with my team." I said honestly before glancing at the MP5. "Though I wouldn't say no to one of those either." I nodded at the man's weapon. The other officer snorted then transitioned into snickering.

"Think I like this one, Sarge. Any chance we can keep her?"

The Sergeant rolled his eyes even as his lips twitched upward slightly. "I don't know, Prescot, why don't you ask her boss. Legend is just a few stories up right now. Borrow the Captain's bullhorn and I'm sure he'll hear you."

"Ha ha, very funny, Sarge." Prescot grumbled. "But seriously, kid, isn't your thing supposed to be weapons? Can't you just make one of your own?" He asked never taking his eyes off of the building.

"Dunno, never tried. PR Would probably murder me if I ever did."

"Glenn would have you doing nothing but preschool visits until you graduated to the Protectorate." Scooter sounded faintly amused by the idea.

"How a man who can't even dress himself in the morning got to be the head of public relations…" I muttered under my breath. Scooter chuckled and I caught him opening his mouth to say something. We all fell silent as a bullhorn crackled to life and the Captain started to demand the buildings occupants come out with their hands up.

For a moment I saw someone peak out the second story window before ducking away and out of sight. If the people in the building responded to the officer's demands I couldn't hear them.

" _They had better stay safe."_ I growled internally.

" _Your team knows what they are doing. Focus on your job."_ Shirou's voice had lost the familiar warmth he normally spoke with these days. Instead he had slipped back into his professional mindset.

" _Right."_ I muttered back.

At that moment there was an earsplitting bang from the front of the building.

"Flashbang." The Sergeant called out. "They're going in, look alive people!"

There was a lot of shouting a few dull thuds... but no gunshots. My eyes scanned back and forth along the side of the building regularly darting up to check the lone window.

Then I saw him out of the corner of my eye. No flash of light or anything dramatic, just suddenly a man in a hoodie with a bandana across his face running full out for the road. Before I could even shout lasers rained from the sky and filled the ally with bursts of blinding light.

I had to turn away until I stopped seeing flashes of light through my eyelids. When I looked up again there were spots in my eyes, but Legend's attacks had served their purpose. Step had stumbled back and was frantically swiping at his eyes.

My arm blurred forward and I was rewarded with a noise somewhere between burying an axe in wood and nails on a chalkboard. Even blinking spots from my eyes I'd managed to sink the throwing knife into Step's shadow, pinning him in place.

I let myself relax minutely even as my heart continued to pound in my chest.

Then Step was gone.

I spun around as a man shouted in surprise. Step was behind Prescot. A gunshot rang out and Prescot tumbled forward. Step vanished. I spun full around keeping my riot shield in front of my chest. I was barely fast enough. The bullet I had half expected caught the edge of my shield jerking it in my hand. My ears rang from the gunshot. My heartrate spiked to the point I could feel it against my ribs, and my whole world focussed in on the man with angry eyes hiding behind a stupid purple bandana. In the blink of an eye he was gone again.

Turning on my heel again I saw Step raising his handgun to the back of the Sergeant's head.

A moment later the gun, the hand, and a small stream of red tumbled down and away. A gleaming bastard sword embedded itself into the wall of the alley.

It took a moment to realize I had traced and fired the sword almost without conscious thought. And then Step screamed.

Scooter proved to be on the ball. Taking three steps he dropped into a baseball slide taking steps feet out from under him. Scooter kept going full speed and I had to jump over him.

The Sergeant had turned and was shouting something at Step as he brandished his MPK5. Then Step was behind the Sergeant stumbling away as he clutched his stump to his chest. In a single motion I traced and threw another Black Key. My aim proved true once more and Step froze stock still, for a moment.

It was just enough time Legend to hit Step with a half dozen blasts.

For long moments no one moved. And for the first time since he appeared in the ally Step didn't vanish into thin air.

One of the Wards who had been flying overhead swooped down and foamed the villain.

And just like that, it was over.

Prescot groaned and rolled over. "Fucker shot me." He coughed.

The Sergeant was at his side in just a few steps, but Prescot waved him off. "I'm alright." He grunted as he pushed himself up. "Vest stopped it. Ow, Fuck that's gunna be a hellava bruise in the morning." He grimaced.

I let out a breath and the Sergeant's laugh was heavily shaded with relief.

I glanced around the alley once more, nerves searching for any more threats. While I didn't find any further threats, my eyes did settle onto the bleeding hand still clutching a pistol.

" _Ahh, shit. I'm going to get the third degree over this."_

Glancing up, Legend's face was unreadable. Then I glanced back to the two SWAT officers. The image of a gun raised to the back of a man's head flashed through my mind.

" _Fuck it. they can bitch all they want."_


	17. Chapter 15

**AN: There has been a note added to chapter three. I've been informed that I completely messed up the facts about dissociative identity disorder. I may rewrite it if I can limit the changes to just that update, but for now I just want you all to be aware of the mistake and to not take the summary in said chapter as fact.**

 **This fic has reached the 2K follower mark! You all are amazing, thank you so much for your support and interest in this fic!**

* * *

{}{}{}{} Wards Ready Room, two hours post raid

I face planted into the remaining empty couch. Dani had beaten me to the one nearest to the door. Mostly because she cheated and went _through_ the door. The boys claimed chairs, and Lily went straight to the kitchen. Hunting for leftovers maybe?

Debriefing had taken forever. So far no one had gone after me for maiming Step. I wasn't sure if that was because the situation had fallen apart enough that it was considered reasonable, or if they were holding off to let me decompress first.

The sound of popcorn popping got me to perk up slightly in spite of how tired I felt.

Lily couldn't cook, but she treated popcorn like an art form. Butter and salt sure, but she also added black pepper and garlic powder too. The rest of the team perked up as well, and a few minutes later Lily was back with three big bowls full of buttery goodness. One bowl went between the boy's chairs and another was deposited in easy reach of Dani on the floor.

"Budge over Taylor, or you won't get any." She joked and shook the bowl for emphasis. There was still an open chair… but it was too far away to share a bowl of popcorn. With a theatrical groan I dragged myself upright and accepted the bowl as Lily plopped down next to me.

For a few minutes the lot of us just munched in silence. We had all been over the day's events enough times together and separately at this point. I don't think any of us were up to discussing it again. Dani still prone on her couch tapped at her phone that she rested on the floor before going back to her popcorn. A few seconds later the rooms speakers kicked to life and a low key instrumental music filled the room.

I closed my eyes and leaned back. It had been a long day.

I woke up with a slight crick in my neck, and an unfamiliar weight on my shoulder.

Still half asleep I glanced down to see Lily passed out on my shoulder. Guess she had been tired too. I thought about waking her and making my way back to my own bed. In the end though that seemed like too much work. I just closed my eyes and let the warmth of another person curled into my side lull me back to sleep.

{}{}{}{}

I tapped away at my mission report on the laptop the PRT gave me. Sure, we had all been debriefed, _repeatedly_ , but bureaucracy demanded we feed it paperwork. It wasn't as if writing the damn thing was difficult. Honestly the combat hadn't even lasted half a minute. The only difficulty was making it all sound professional. I could have summarized it in twenty words or dragged it out into a multi page fight scene fit for a novelization of some overly violent kids show. Striking the kind of professional tone, the PRT would demand was just an awkward state of mind I hadn't quite nailed down yet.

The buzzer from the door jolted me out of my thoughts. Quickly tracing a basic domino mask, as had become my habit, I refocused on the stupid report.

When the door hissed open, I glanced up and promptly forgot all about the report. Legend was standing in the doorway. He stepped inside with a sad smile on his lips and what might have been bags under his eyes. It was a bit hard to tell with the domino mask, but what little skin under his eyes was visible certainly seemed darker than the rest of his face.

Right then I really wished the others weren't all off doing one thing or another. Setting my laptop aside I stood up.

"Legend, what can I do for you? Would you like something to drink? I think I might even have some leftovers from breakfast." It was hard to imagine using proper manners as a weapon, but here and now that was exactly what they were. I might not know exactly what Legend had expected from me. But this was certainly not it. Keeping the enemy off balance is always a good strategy.

Legend paused for a moment before he recovered. "Coffee, please. It was a late night, and early morning."

Nodding I headed for the kitchen. "Sure, just a few minutes while I brew a new pot. How do you take it?"

"Black, with a pinch of salt."

Glancing back at the most powerful blaster in the country I raised an eyebrow, inviting an explanation for the odd request. Legend chuckled as he followed me.

"Behemoth attacked Turkey, oh six years ago or so. The locals like to take their coffee that way. I tried some while waiting for the teleport back home. Never gone back."

I hummed agreeably as I finished setting up the pot and put some water on the boil for tea. I had found a good Irish breakfast tea not too long ago and was more than willing to use Legend's visit as an excuse to indulge in a second cup.

Legend waited patiently for our respective drinks to finish brewing. When we were both seated with cups still too hot to drink, he sat a moment just savoring the smell with closed eyes before setting it aside to cool and turning to business.

"What you did yesterday has kicked up one heck of a fuss." Despite how the words could have been taken there was no recrimination in his voice. Just a sort of sad, tired, pain. "Glenn is snapping at his interns and worked all night on how best to spin the story. The Youth Guard rep who paid you a visit before is using this as an excuse to make noise. Though he can't seem to decide if he's angrier that you were placed in danger, or if he wants to go after us for conditioning an innocent young girl to be so ruthless in combat."

I scoffed and shook my head which won a wry grin from Legend.

"To be fair, if I wasn't aware of just how unique your situation is, I'd also be rather concerned about someone resorting to dismemberment just three months after getting powers. Never mind that you've only been a Ward for three weeks."

I wanted to argue but from an outside point of view without all the context? Well, maybe they had a point.

"Step's Lawyer is trying to use your actions as leverage to get Step a lighter sentence." Wide eyed I opened my mouth to say something, but Legend waved me off. "Don't worry about that. It's been tried before, and considering Step's actions it's a dead end. Other groups of villains around the city are either bunkering down or acting out. Heroes maiming villains is rare, and they aren't sure what to make of it just yet. Glenn is planning to release a few short clips from your helmet camera to prove Step was playing for keeps. Once he does the gangs will probably settle down to a low simmer for a few weeks just to be safe, and then go back to business as usual.

I nodded and turned my mug in my hands. I didn't take my eyes off of Legend.

"Several members of the police force, one sergeant Romero in particular, and misses Romero, all passed along their thanks." I grinned. Legend noticed and his smile grew slightly warmer in response. "You saved a good man yesterday. Maybe several. There is no way of knowing how things might have played out if you hadn't incapacitated Step."

Legend sighed and swirled his cup before taking a cautious sip. The pleased little hum told me I'd gotten the amount of salt right.

"... How are you doing, Taylor?" The use of my real name caught me off guard. I hesitated for a moment before taking off the domino mask.

"I'm alright. It was... "I closed my eyes and let my mind wander back to yesterday's fight. "It was crazy, and chaotic and over almost as fast as it started. But I see Shirou's memories when I sleep." At Legends concerned look I grinned tiredly back. "Not every night. But often enough. And it's always about some fight or another. Experiencing it in person was more intense… But I think I was as prepared for the reality as anyone can be."

Legend took another sip and waited.

I sipped at my own drink even as my thoughts continued to circle round the fight. "When I saw the gun at the back of the sergeants' head… I didn't think, didn't hesitate. I just reacted." I glanced up to look Legend in the eye. "I won't regret that. I saved a man's life. I _can't_ regret that."

Legend nodded. "What else could you have done?" It wasn't an accusation. Just a question.

I took another sip of my tea to buy time to think.

"I could have killed Step." I answered honestly. "Considering who has been teaching me I'm almost surprised I didn't. I could have tried to knock his hand aside with a blunt weapon. Though he might have spasmed and pulled the trigger." I closed my eyes and thought. "Maybe if I went after the gun with something that can cut through metal... "I shook my head. "Ugh, no, cutting the gun so it wouldn't shoot or explode on firing would have taken a second I didn't have."

"So, you reacted on instinct and used the minimum of force you could, while still ensuring no one would be killed?" Legend asked kindly.

I bit my lip for a moment considering what else I might have tried before I finally nodded.

"Then I would have to say you did the right thing." My surprise must have shown on my face because Legend chuckled lightly into his coffee. "I suppose Red Hood has been telling stories about the PRT's stance on excessive force? He's a good young man, but he tends to leave out the little one man war that brought him to our attention."

I tucked that little tidbit away for future research.

"Still, he isn't entirely wrong. And unfortunately, politics and public relations are involved in this now. Regulations require that I give you two weeks off from active duty. Barring any emergency response duties that may come up in that time. I'm upping that to three weeks." I opened my mouth to protest but Legend pushed on. "With how much scrutiny you are currently under extending your leave will ease some tension. Frankly no matter your personal situation this was your first brush with someone trying to kill you. I would feel better knowing you took all the time you need to recover before going back out there."

I wanted to bristle, but I had in fact read the regulations he was talking about so I knew he was being level with me. In the end one extra week wasn't all that unreasonable. Though it still felt like too long after being cooped up for months on end already.

"To placate the Youth Guard, the public, and Glenn, I'm afraid I have a list of things for you to do while you are off of active duty." Legend spoke seriously. "The first of which is to talk to your father. If he hasn't heard about this yet he will soon enough." I winced and nodded. He was right. I really should reassure Dad before he had reason to worry.

"I want you to put in more time doing target practice at Coney Island. Take regular breaks and talk to the people who turn out to watch." Ok that wasn't so bad. And I was closing in on perfect aim at a mile, so more chances to practice were honestly welcome. Talking to people… well I could deal with that. "The public seeing you out and about, not to mention being able to talk to you will do wonders for your image. It lets people know you aren't being punished, and lets them see that you are in fact a well adjusted young woman we trust to be out among people."

Well, when he put it like that… Talking to people it is then.

"Doctor Yamada will be by sometime week after next, and you have an appointment to meet with her." I perked up at that. The woman's calm nature and support was just about the only thing I missed from my time at the asylum. Seeing her again, even under the circumstances, would be nice. "Her evaluation of your mental health will hopefully force the Youth Guard to back down." Legend grimaced at the mention of the soccer mom's united league and took another gulp of his coffee.

"Finally, we have a few tour groups of elementary schoolers scheduled to come through this week." Legends voice and grin hinted at humor even as I felt dawning horror. "Given your conversation with the Adepts, and the fact you can apparently make things other than weapons, I thought you might like to put on a little magic show for them?"

" _I knew I was going to pay for that, but this is just_ evil _."_

Legend chuckled and excused himself with a promise to email me the details.

{}{}{}{}

"I'm fine, Dad, really." I knew I was failing to keep my exasperation out of my voice but I'd been at this for ten minutes now and Dad still wasn't calming down.

"Someone shot at you!" Dad growled.

"I blocked the bullet!" I countered. "It didn't even put a crack in my riot shield." Granted, I had been reinforcing the riot shield, but that was beside the point.

"Taylor, that doesn't make me feel any better about this!"

I cringed as Dad's volume spiked, again. "...Does the fact he's locked up and in seriously hot water help? He may even go to the birdcage." Between the human trafficking, and the use of deadly force against LEO's he was ticking off several major boxes. Step might have only been captured once, but there were plenty of heavy charges to file against him. I doubted it would go that far. Even with his crimes, a one armed B-list villain just didn't have the kind of record or fear factor that normally saw people sentenced to the cage.

Dad huffed angrily but didn't say anything for a moment. I guess the idea of someone who shot at me being sentenced to an inescapable pit made him happy.

"Are you _sure_ you're alright?" He finally asked quietly.

"I'm okay, Dad. Not even a scratch. Besides, they pulled my off of active duty for the next three weeks. They want me to decompress or something. They even set up an appointment with Doctor Yamada."

"That's good." Dad murmured, but then he sighed. "I'm sorry, Taylor. I really need to get back to work right now. I love you. I'll call you tonight."

"Bye, Dad. Love you too."

{}{}{}{}

Dani was rolling on the floor laughing like mad. Lily was giggling hysterically. Fred was howling with laughter. Even Jason was laughing into his arms so hard his shoulders shook as he sat bent over the table, resting his head on his arms.

I glared impotently at the traitors.

Lily got her laughter under control first. "Oh, oh! We have to get you a tailcoat, and a top hat!" And just like that her speech dissolved into full blown laughter, even as the rest of the team launched into a fresh round of hysterics.

With a huff, I headed for the landline on the wall. Next to the landline were several delivery menus taped to the wall. Without a second thought, I dialed up the most generic looking pizzeria.

"Hello, I'd like to order two large cheese pizzas for the siege squad Wards."

My teammates stopped laughing and started groveling. I ignored that though. I wasn't going to cook for people that laughed at my suffering.

{}{}{}{}

The pizza was ok.

Just ok.

I hadn't needed to cook it which was… eh. I guess I was really starting to enjoy cooking.

And it wasn't _good…_

" _I need to find different ways to punish my teammates."_

Still it had at least hit home. Dani was outright sulking. The others were eating without any of their usual enthusiasm… But damn it all. I was punishing myself as much as I was punishing them, and that was just counterproductive.

"Taylor?" Dani mumbled. Her chin rested on the edge of the table and she poked listlessly at her slice of pizza with one finger. I was rather disturbed to realize that her finger came away shiny with grease. "If I promise to be good will you please go back to cooking tomorrow?"

I took a moment to seriously consider the question. Then I glanced at my own slice of pizza which was surrounded by a slowly spreading outline, and it suddenly wasn't really a question anymore.

"I promise to throw away that menu as soon as I get up from the table." I pushed my paper plate away. "I just wanted to make a point, not subject myself to this. Why did you guys even keep the menu if the food is this bad?"

Jason Shrugged. "Some places won't deliver to government buildings for one reason or another, a few places we aren't allowed to order from because they are suspected fronts for one gang or another. Which is sort of bullshit, but apparently some idiots tried to poison a hero once, so now it's in the regs. Plus, the previous team leader was an ass to delivery people. We got blacklisted by a lot of the better take out places in the area." He grumbled the last sentence. "I've been trying to mend those bridges but it's been slow going. I think this was the place that has decent wings though?" He half asked as he glanced at Fred who just nodded back.

I had never actually heard of anyone getting blacklisted by a restaurant because they were rude to delivery people. I wasn't sure I even wanted to know how the previous team leader managed that.

Dani lay halfway across the table arms extended in supplication. Her eyes were wide and pleading. "So, you'll go back to cooking?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, fine, I'll go back to cooking tomorrow." I relented.

The boys and Lily let out relieved sighs. Dani cheered lightly as she threw her arms to the sky. With a dejected sigh I stood up to toss my sad looking slice of pizza. There was fruit in the kitchen if nothing else. Really even just celery sticks and peanut butter would be better.

"Just help me figure out some kind of an act?" I didn't beg. Not quite. "I'm supposed to keep a bunch of eight year old's entertained for a half hour. I could barely handle two little kids for the three minutes I needed to shoo them back to their parents."

Fred rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. "Alright, fine shouldn't take too long to put something together. Honestly you could probably just spend the whole time making each one a custom stuffed animal and they would be thrilled."

And then the rest started tossing in ideas.

{}{}{}{} Archery stand Coney Island

As yet another arrow thunked into the target I grinned. Smiley faces might not be as intricate as Celtic knots but emojis actually seemed to get a better response from the crowds. Maybe because I could complete them faster? Either way I left the arrows in place as I turned to talk with some of the watchers who had crowded around. I would disperse them later.

Honestly, it was mostly meaningless pleasantries. How do you like New York? Are you doing alright, I heard about what happened? Can you sign my whatever they had handy? Every break I took to talk with people just reaffirmed that Lily had the patience of a saint to deal with these people.

I was just saying goodbye to a kid who was probably eleven or so. The boy was proudly sporting a freshly signed baseball cap and a gap toothed grin when an obnoxious slurred voice carried over the sounds of the crowd.

"You bitch! Struttin around like a frigging peacock!" The crowds parted nervous faces glanced towards the voice even as people moved away. They didn't _run_ , but they certainly weren't taking their time either. As the crowd parted I got my first good look at the speaker. He was staggering a bit and looked haggard and sick. He was also glaring darkly at me.

"Excuse me?" I dismissed my bow and spread my feet.

"Fucking, bitch. You chopped off my bro's hand!" He spat.

" _Ah, well, this could be a problem."_ I subtly glanced around and was relieved to see that people were continuing to move away even if a few idiots had stopped to record what was happening. "He was trying to shoot an officer in the back of the head." I spoke slow and calm. "I won't apologize for saving a life."

"Shut up!" He staggered forward a few more steps. "Should a just left my bro alone! Shouldn'ta gone after him in the first place!"

I briefly debated launching into a morality debate with someone so obviously biased and drunk, but really it would be pointless.

"Look, Sir, I did my duty. I won't apologize for that. And frankly I doubt you would care if I did. Whatever you came here to accomplish… You should just head home." I tensed ready to trace at a moment's notice.

He cursed and his hand went for a pocket. By the time his hand reemerged I had a Black Key and riot shield in hand. Of all things the idiot could have brought to fight a cape all he had was a switchblade. A rusty nicked one at that. Part of me was relieved that it wasn't a gun. I didn't want any of the bystanders getting hurt. A larger part of me was just offended this idiot thought it would be enough.

Snapping my arm forward my Black Key buried into the boardwalk and his shadow. The man froze in place, then started cursing. With a sigh I tapped on my helmet radio to call it in.

{}{}{}{}

"Hey, Taylor." Lily's voice drifted from the doorframe behind me. Glancing over my shoulder she stood in the entrance and fidgeted slightly. "You think you could teach me a bit about cooking? I'd kind of like to know how to make more than just popcorn.

"Oh, uhm sure. Come on in. I'm making stir fry, it's pretty basic so it's an easy dish to start with." I answered with a shrug.

Lily smiled brightly as she slipped into the kitchen. I kind of wished she hadn't decided to stand shoulder to shoulder with me because it made things a bit cramped at first. But after a few minutes we worked out a rhythm where she would pass me whatever I needed from her side of the counter so in the end it all worked out.

{}{}{}{}

I wasn't sure how or why Lily and Dani had talked me into it... But they had. I was wearing a black top hat with a red band and a red tailcoat with a white collar and cuffs. Instead of my normal helmet I was wearing a mask with a bit more coverage than the standard domino design. Really it looked like a thin black sleep mask with eyeholes. Only instead of half circles under the eyes it came to gentle points, sort of.

Handing out plushies I traced had indeed been a big hit with the tour group. It had also given me enough time to calm down before pulling a few generic magic tricks that I cheated at with tracing. Pulling dozens of scarves out of my throat was actually pretty easy when I just kept slowly tracing them as I pulled. And the whole is this your card stick is really easy when I could just make whole decks with only one card.

I was pretty sure most of the adults had caught on but I was dazzling the little kids so it was fine. I was about to wrap up this incredibly embarrassing show by juggling blunted knives when everything went to hell.

Sirens moaned across the whole of the city, loud and mournful their wail silenced all other noise for a heartbeat and then the teachers and parents who accompanied the class started shouting and a few of the kids started to scream and cry.

Endbringer.

My phone vibrated at that moment and a quick check showed a general alert.

 _Dispatch: Leviathan attack imminent. Target: United States, East Coast. Out of city volunteers report to main office. All others to assist with civilian evacuation into shelters._

I hesitated for maybe five seconds.

I wasn't cleared to attend out of city attacks. I'd wanted to sign up, but Dad had veto power. He wanted to bar me from attending attacks even if I happened to be in the city being attacked. That had been a very tense negotiation. In the end he conceded to let me participate if an attack happened somewhere I was stationed. In exchange I wouldn't ask about attending out of town fights until I turned seventeen. Neither of us was happy, but that's the nature of compromise.

I took a deep breath and shouted to be heard over the sirens.

"Alright everyone! There is a shelter under the base. Form an orderly line and follow me! It's Leviathan this time, but they don't know where he's attacking just yet. Could be anywhere from Florida all the way up to Maine. Doesn't matter though we're going to treat it like it's serious regardless! With any luck this will be just like the drills you've been in before, and in a few hours everything will be just fine!"

I kept up a stream of chatter as I helped the adults shepherd the kids into the basement. Little legs slowed us down and I didn't have time to check my phone as I moved to get them settled in. Once they had been passed off to troopers at the entrance of the shelter I tried to get back up to the ready room. I needed to change back into my real costume and see to any further instructions.

It took almost twenty minutes to get back to the ready room. The others weren't there but that was no surprise they had all been in class when the alarms went off. No doubt someone had picked them up with their costumes after the alarm and they were already on their way to their destinations. I slammed my helmet on, and jammed my arms into my jacket before checking my phone.

 _Dispatch: Out of town attack. Continue evacuation to Shelters. Tidal waves unlikely but possible._

I grimaced lightly. It wasn't that I didn't want to help with the evacuation effort. I just wasn't sure how much good I could do. Getting to the ready room had been difficult enough getting _out_ while a significant fraction of the city was trying to get _in_ sounded stupidly difficult and counterproductive. The railway exit was an option but then the real question was where the hell did I go now?

I tapped on my radio.

"Dispatch, this is Arsenal with a low priority request for orders."

" _What do you need Arsenal, keep it brief."_ The troopers voice was sharp and stressed.

"I escorted the tour group I was with to the base shelter and made my way back to the ready room for my standard uniform. Getting out of the building would mean pushing against the crowds. I can exit by the railway bikes, but I don't know where you need me."

" _Right, right… Head for the rail bikes and stand by, Arsenal. The evacuation is going about as well as it ever does, but we're likely to see looters once the rush is over. Stand by to be deployed."_

"Copy that, dispatch."

Suiting action to words I headed for the subway. I'd only used the bikes a few times so far, but I could manage them alright and with the sirens going they subways wouldn't be moving regardless.

Sitting on one of the bikes waiting to punch in coordinates to find the best route I had to fight not to tense up and stress out. Anyone stupid enough to loot during an Endbringer attack would be random idiots. Capes knew better than to raise a fuss when the truce was on and they kept their gangs in line. Pinning idiots by their shadows and leaving them for the police to collect wouldn't be hard.

Then again Glenn had gotten after me about not damaging city infrastructure… I could break out the bola I'd been playing around with. Bit harder on the targets, but it shouldn't be an issue. I'd just have to slow down a bit to secure them fully. Hopefully there would not be too many incidents to respond to, but I wasn't holding my breath. A city of millions meant thousands of people stupid enough to gamble against death by city killing monster. In this case they were even right since the attack was supposed to hit somewhere else.

As long as no one shot at me and the Butcher didn't decide to go on a rampage it should be fine.

My phone ringing caught me off guard but I fished it out and answered the call. "Hello?"

"Taylor," Lily voice was half panicked. "The teleport for Brockton Bay is leaving in five minutes. Where are you?" I could hear a shout in the background.

In that moment the world around me seemed to grind to a halt.

"Repeat that for me, please. Leviathan is attacking _where?"_ I asked with the sort of deadly calm that promised horrible violence. There was an ugly, icy, feeling building in the pit of my stomach.

"Brockton Bay," Lily spoke quickly. I could hear the near panic in her voice. "Taylor, where are you? Strider is supposed to be here to pick us up any minute!"

"I'm at the subway exit back at base." I spoke with an utterly dead tone.

Lily sputtered over the line. "Are you not- Not that I'm judging you! Endbringers are crazy and I'm terrified and-"

I cut her off. "Dad never gave permission for me to attend out of town Endbringer fights. He said he'd consider it when I turned Seventeen." I nearly whispered. "But Dad's _in_ Brockton Bay. They'd have to foam me to stop me from going. But the target wasn't in the dispatch texts and I was busy with civilians and I..."

I was halfway across the city. Even at the bikes top speed… I wouldn't make it before the teleport. I'd read the regs. They wouldn't hold it for me. They wouldn't let me go without a fight even if I could get there.

"Are they going to do a second teleport for anyone who misses the first?" I asked panic seeping into my voice.

"Hang on I'll ask."

I could hear fragments of shouting over the phone but nothing I could make out. I started plugging the main Protectorate base into the bikes route planner. If there was any chance at all of me getting there…

"Taylor, I'm sorry." Lily sounded absolutely miserable, and I didn't need her to spell it out for me to understand the answer to my question.

In that moment my temper slipped from my control and I slammed my fist into the side of my bike hard enough for it to sting. I breathed out slowly as I tried to clamp down on everything I was feeling. "Stay alive, Lily. Stay alive, and stay safe."

"Taylor…"

"Just stay alive! All of you, stay alive!" I choked on my rising emotions.

"...We'll be back soon." Lily said before hanging up.

It wasn't the promise I wanted. We both knew she couldn't actually promise anything of the sort. It would have to be enough.


	18. Chapter 16

**AN: Still don't own Nasuverse or Worm. enjoy the chapter folks! Read and Review, Follow and Fovorite! All that good stuff.**

* * *

Tora-shinai whistled through the air in short sharp bursts ending in loud smacks of bamboo on flesh. Occasionally the crack of a small bone breaking joined the chorus as well. Blood splattered the concrete from one idiot's broken nose. The tiger pendant seemed to catch the light at every moan from the downed looters. None of it did anything to calm my raging emotions. At least the idiots gave me something to do. I'd go crazy if I had to sit still while feeling like this.

I roughly cuffed the moron's hands behind their backs. Then just to be sure I cuffed them to each other as well.

Growling, I stalked away and tapped my com.

"Arsenal to Dispatch, five idiots incapacitated and restrained. Where to next?"

" _Arsenal, you've been going at this for an hour now. And I'm getting a lot of pick up reports listing broken bones. Are you fit to continue?"_

I snarled. "Dispatch, I am stuck here while my last living family and my team are in the same city as Leviathan. These idiots risked death and broke the truce to try their hands at looting. _Where am I going next?"_

" _Arsenal…"_ The dispatch operator groaned. With a sigh he relented. _"Two blocks north and one East. Jewelry store alarm went off five minutes ago."_

"On my way." I poured energy into reinforcing my limbs and sprinted off.

{}{}{}{}

The rail bike slowed to a stop in the basement underneath the ready room. I didn't even wait for it to come to a complete stop before I was off of it and running up the stairs.

I froze stock still in the doorway.

 _Alive_. All four of them were alive and whole. I slumped sideways leaning heavily on the door frame. Fred's armor looked damaged and Jason's costume was shredded showing blotchy bruises. All four were drenched and exhausted, but they were _alive._

Jason tilted his head my way and nodded. "Hey, Taylor. You manage to hold down the fort while we were gone?" His tone hinted at attempted humor, but his exhaustion weighed down the attempt.

I swallowed a lump in my throat. "Twenty eight looters off the streets in three hours." I tried and failed to keep my voice light. "All with a newfound fear of bamboo swords."

Jason's lips twitched upward. A ghost of a smile.

I shook my head. "Knowing my home town, they probably didn't even bother to feed you. What do you all want? I've got the ingredients for most of the usual stuff."

I got barely any reaction from them. Just a couple tiredly murmured requests. I wanted to ask about home, about Dad, about losses… But looking at them I couldn't bring myself to say anything.

They had gone and risked death for my home… and _I wasn't there with them._

Swallowing down my guilt I turned for the kitchen. Cooking was nothing, but it was what I could do for them now. I would put my all into it.

{}{}{}{}

An hour and a half later the counter looked like a buffet. My friends had all stumbled in over the past twenty minutes or so. They were freshly showered, and dressed in warm street clothes.

They were all so quiet.

Deftly I spooned out portions, playing charades to figure out who wanted what and how much. When everyone had their plates, I went about setting up a plate of my own. I had the distinct impression that whatever I ate would taste like ash. But I was hungry, and denying that wouldn't do me any good.

Jason managed a few mouthfuls, then set aside his fork with a shake of his head. Standing he moved to the cabinets and pulled out the bottle of whiskey I had wheedled out of Dad for cooking purposes.

Part of me wanted to protest, but I kept my silence and focused on my plate. The clink of ice on glass caused me to glance up as Jason placed a glass in front of me. I opened my mouth to say something, but Jason waved me off and returned the now much lighter bottle to the cabinets. A look showed he had poured some for everyone.

"It has been a shit day for all of us." He tiredly spoke, retaking his seat. "And yes, that includes you, Taylor. Being stuck here worrying, never mind running all over the city smacking down idiots, is just a different kind of shit."

I wanted to argue. I pushed that impulse aside and picked up the glass giving the amber liquid a careful sniff.

" _It will burn less going down if you give the ice some time to melt first."_ It was the first thing Shirou had said since the sirens went off. He hadn't gone and hidden away again, he had just… It was like he had been standing vigil. He was there, silently supporting me. Letting me work through it on my own, without leaving me alone.

Vaguely remembering something about motion making ice melt faster, I slowly rolled my wrist letting the glasses contents spin. Lily eyed her drink, but didn't reach for it. Dani didn't even look up from her food, just continuing to poke and nibble. Fred took a small sip, and Jason gulped down half of his.

Jason hissed out a breath as he placed his glass down.

"O for three now. No point in going for anything but search and rescue anymore. Damn things are just out of my league." He grimaced and took a smaller sip.

"Good." Dani murmured. "I was terrified when you were announced as down. We'll work together next time." She finally looked up to give Jason a very pointed look. To his credit he was smart enough to wordlessly concede the point.

"Dunno how much good Lily or I did. Only had time for a couple shots before I got smacked by a wave. Then we never caught up with him." Fred muttered darkly.

Lily nodded absently before taking up her glass and gulping down a mouthful. She grimaced and tossed her head before speaking. "My power worked, but I don't know how much it mattered. Maybe if I overcharged them so they went through?" She shook her head and took another sip, this time without the reflexive flinch. "Didn't want to risk hitting anyone standing on the other side of him. Not even sure it would have worked."

Jason sighed and finished his drink.

"Taylor… The fight didn't go well." I tried to swallow only to find that my throat had become uncomfortably dry. Suddenly the drink in my hand seemed like a wonderful idea.

I was used to the taste of the whiskey from my cooking, and while it wasn't my favorite it was certainly pleasant enough. But this was stronger and harsher than I had come to expect. Even giving the ice a bit of time to melt had only mellowed it so much. The burn it made going down was new and uncomfortable, but I limited my reaction to a grimace and a small twitch.

"The bastard was fast enough to give most of us the slip. Once it got away from the coast, we had to hunt it through the city. Whenever someone managed to pin it down for more than a minute it disengaged, and we lost us again." Jason looked me in the eye and his face was a study in regret. "He was targeting the Endbringer shelters."

I slumped back into my chair. I couldn't voice my thoughts nearly fast enough for my words to keep up. There was just an endless moment of silence as a great gaping hole opened up inside me that dragged away my thoughts and clawed at my hopes.

"Two shelters were decimated, and a third suffered an unknown number of casualties before Scion showed up and drove him off."

I didn't know what to say. What to do. Part of me noticed I was still holding a glass of whiskey. There was an immediate impulse to finish it right then and there. That passed almost as quickly as it came. I'd never drunk before, but I'd seen what it could do. Now wasn't a good time to test if it actually could numb what I was feeling. Three shelters. The city had more than two dozen. Not the best odds. Not odds I liked. Not odds anyone wanted to consider. But it wasn't hopeless. Not even close.

I placed the glass back on the table, and pushed it away. I didn't want it. I didn't need it. It _wouldn't help_.

"How, how long until we can expect casualty lists, survivors?" I waved a hand and just fought to keep my voice from breaking. I didn't succeed as much as I might have hoped

No one would look at me.

"With the state of a lot of the bodies, and the amount of damage to the city, never mind things like records... Some people were saying a lot of the infrastructure was gutted. It could be weeks."

Weeks. Weeks of not knowing if Dad made it. I couldn't handle that. I couldn't sit still and wait that long. I pushed back my chair and stood up. "I'm sorry. I need to go and see about a temporary transfer."

I spun on my heel and headed for the door.

{}{}{}{}

Siege squads Protectorate oversight was a cape I'd only met once by the name of Icebreaker. _Was_. He went to Brockton Bay and didn't make it back. Figuring that out took me a half hour. It took the people running the office another half hour of hemming and hawing to admit they had no idea who was in charge of us now.

The obvious solution was to cut out the middleman and move up the chain of command. That meant Legend. Legend who had been back in the office only long enough to take care of the absolute necessities before going home to his husband.

The calm objective part of my mind had a hard time begrudging the man whatever comfort he could get after an Endbringer battle. That part was in the distinct minority. My father was somewhere in a destroyed city, and I wasn't even sure if he was alive. Legend being out was one more obstacle in my way and I was not the least bit happy about it. I'd snapped and snarled at three office drones and two troopers before finally conceding defeat and returning to the ready room. The others had all called it a night either in their rooms or in Lily's case passed out on one of the couches.

I threw a blanket over Lily before making my way to the kitchen. Shirou finally spoke up as I went about wrapping up the leftovers.

" _What are you planning, Taylor?"_

" _Get home, find Dad."_ Simple plans are the best plans. Minimal points of failure that way.

Shirou's huff told me he was less than impressed with my answer.

 _"Fine, fine. Get Legend to temporarily transfer me back home. They'll need all the help they can get so there shouldn't be any problem with me volunteering. Once I'm there… if the house is still standing leave a note for Dad and check back regularly to look for a response. If that doesn't work… I'll search the refugee camps and hospitals."_

" _... And if you don't find him?"_ Shirou's voice was softer than I had ever heard it.

I closed my eyes and leaned over the counter. I was just so tired. _"If Dad's..._ gone _? Then a certain lizard just moved straight to the top of my list."_

{}{}{}{} Waiting room outside Legends office: 6am

My foot tapped out an impatient rhythm and a practice butterfly spun through my fingers at a blistering pace. I'd been here twenty minutes already. When the secretary came in ten minutes ago, she was very surprised to see me. She was less than thrilled when I told her I wasn't moving until I had a chance to speak with Legend. Her protests that there would be all kinds of meetings taking precedence after an Endbringer attack only earned her a flat stare.

I knew I wasn't a priority right now. I didn't care. This was too important to me.

I scowled as I saw Legend fly by the office window. I'd hoped to get my foot in the door when he came in. If he was just going to fly right into his office, I was in for a longer wait than I had hoped for.

{}{}{}{} 10 am

I had escalated to a live blade, and outright glaring at the secretary. She seemed halfway to tears. Normally I would feel bad about that, but after four hours of watching a seemingly never ending stream of people enter and exit Legend's office without being allowed in? She was lucky I hadn't traced a dartboard yet. If I had to wait much longer though I would mount one on the front of her desk.

The sound of the door opening caused me to glance over just in time to see not only another person in a suit, but also Legend, exiting the office.

My knife was gone and I was moving in an instant.

I didn't even wait for the two to finish speaking.

"Legend, Siege squads' supervisor didn't make it back from the attack, so I had to bring this directly to you." The suit puffed up like he was getting ready to reprimand me but I ignored him and just kept talking before he could interrupt. "I'm requesting an immediate transfer to Brockton Bay until things have settled there."

Legends looked confused at first, but I could see the moment the pieces fit together in his mind.

"Your father was still in Brockton Bay, wasn't he?" Legend seemed to sag. I took a moment to really look at the man. Even with the domino mask it was easy to see just how tired he was feeling.

"Yes. If he made it… I need to find him. I have to know." I tried to keep my voice even and calm. My voice didn't crack, but that was about all I could say for my efforts. The suit deflated and moved away. I passed Legend the transfer paperwork I'd filled out the night before.

Legend opened his mouth to answer, then snapped it shut with a click. Waving me behind him he turned back to his office. Following I stood in front of his desk as he pulled up something on his computer. Whatever Legend was looking for I knew the second he found it. He closed his eyes and blew out a breath. Then he looked me in the eye and for all that he looked resolute he also looked miserable.

"I'm sorry, Arsenal, Taylor. I have to deny your transfer request."

"What?! Why?!" The words ripped themselves out of my throat.

Legend winced, but stayed resolute. "You're off of active duty. If I transferred you into what is likely to become a heavy combat zone now-"

My hand slammed down onto his desk hard enough to rattle it.

"To hell with the Youth Guard's concerns about my childhood!" I snarled. "I was stuck here worrying while my friends and family were in the line of fire! I might not have been able to do anything then, but I won't settle for sitting around and waiting now!"

"It's not just about the Youth Guard!" Legend snapped. "Sending you there now would break a number of regulations! I can't just ignore that, even in a case like this." He brought his voice back under control as he tried to make me understand.

I just glared all the harder. "... If it was your family who might be dead, and the rules said you had to stay here. What would you do?"

Legend said nothing, but he looked away. I tapped two fingers against the transfer papers on his desk, silently demanding his signature. Legend only shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Taylor. My hands are tied. You'll be back on active duty in two weeks, I might be able to shave a week off of that if I get creative with the paperwork. If there isn't any news at that point, I can transfer you then." He offered.

I was sorely tempted to trace something painful. Instead I marched out of the room without a backwards glance, and slammed the door hard enough to make the walls rattle. It was all I could do not to scream. I was halfway out of the building before I finally managed to put words to my emotions.

"I've tried playing by the rules. I've been more than willing to work with them despite all the issues. _Clearly_ that was a mistake." I growled.

" _So, what will you do now?"_ Shirou asked. No anger, no judgment. Just a question.

"I don't know. Not yet. But I'm not staying. I can't stay. I won't." This was one betrayal too far. I liked my team. I liked most of the other Wards I'd met. Hell, I even liked the Protectorate heroes I'd worked with. But this wasn't about the people. This was about the institution, and how once again it was fucking me over.

" _OK."_ Shirou agreed.

And that was it. No further words needed to be spoken. Shirou had my back. If nothing else that at least hadn't changed.

" _I need a way back to Brockton Bay."_ I started planning even as I moved. _"Buses won't be running there, not after an Endbringer attack. The train station in the Bay hasn't run in years, and that's assuming the tracks and station weren't wrecked in the attack… But people should be sending aid trucks."_

" _Where would the aid trucks be leaving from?"_ Shirou asked.

" _Any nearby city or military base. Probably from places farther away as well. New York is close enough to send aid directly. There should be some kind of rally point… I need to grab a few things from my room. I'll try and look it up while I'm there. If not I'll start asking around. The PRT will be involved in the relief efforts, someone has to know."_

{}{}{}{} Taylor's room

I stuffed a few changes of civilian clothes into my duffle bag along with my spare costume parts and extra jackets. Well, mostly. I paused when I got to the skirts.

" _Taylor?"_

" _I don't want to wear this anymore. I didn't really care one way or another before. But it's just a stupid PR prop. It doesn't do anything and it just…"_

Shirou grunted. Even if I was having trouble articulating exactly what I was thinking he got the general idea. Right now, it was just one more reminder of everything I hated about the Protectorate and PRT.

" _Well, get rid of it by all means. But your outfit will look unbalanced."_

" _Since when do you care about fashion?"_ I asked scathingly.

Shirou only huffed. Still he had a point… My eyes caught on the red scarf that had been sent along with the costume for the winter months, when the wind bit cold. With quick movement I wrapped it around my waist like a sash with the extra length trailing down to my left knee.

" _There, that looks better anyway."_ Wardrobe seen too I turned on my tablet and started hunting for aid trucks.

"Bingo." Every burrow had at least one or two places where people could drop off canned goods, bottled water, diapers, and basic medical supplies. The closest one was in the Northeastern bit of Queens. Bag over my shoulder I headed straight for the railway bikes. I wanted to leave a note for my team, but I couldn't risk that. I needed the biggest head start I could get. If I left a note it was just making it more likely that someone would try and stop me. I'd apologize to them after I got Dad out of the Bay.

{}{}{}{} half hour later Queens emergency aid drop off point.

"I dunno, kid. No one told me anything about getting a hero escort." The trucker scratched at his short cropped hair.

"Yeah, well it's an Endbringer mess. People are scrambling all over. Now, no offense, but you're heading into Nazi territory. I'd think you'd be a bit happier about cape support." I dryly riposted.

The man I was trying to con into giving me a ride winced. It might not have been nice to remind a black man on a humanitarian mission that he was sticking his mouth in the lion's jaws… but if it got me the ride I needed?

"Isn't there supposed to be a truce on." He countered nervously.

"Well yeah," I blithely admitted with a careless shrug. "but after an Endbringer attack? People are desperate. No telling how long it will actually hold up." He hesitated, so I pushed my advantage. "Look, if you don't want me to ride along that's fine. I'll just catch a ride on a different aid truck. If no one's interested in a bit of backup I'll just catch a chopper in the morning."

He hesitated just a moment longer before shaking his head. "Ahh, hell. Sure, might as well give you a lift. Just give me a bit to clear some garbage out of cab. Don't go too far, I'm leaving in twenty!"

I trailed along behind and did my best to keep victory and relief off of my face. _"Hang on, Dad. I'm coming."_

"Hey, kid, what's your name?"

"Eh, I didn't introduce myself? Sorry about that." I glanced down at my makeshift sash, and decided I might as well toss one more piece of PR I could take or leave. "Name's, Legacy."


	19. Chapter 17

**AN: So, I want to try and do something… different. Granted I'm always trying to do something different which is how we ended up in New York. In this case I mean something fundamentally different to the fandom. Generally speaking, we get an interlude at the end of every arc to show something about the story we couldn't normally know from Taylor's POV…**

 **It's a good formula, it works, it's interesting when done properly… I don't really want to use it though. I'm going to try and only use Lily's POV for interludes. Why? Mostly because it keeps the focus closer to home. As a fandom, we spend a lot of time getting wrapped up in who is plotting what and why it is all aimed to make Taylor's life worse. Screw that noise, it'll come up when it's relevant. And really, I need to get a better grasp on Lily as a character.**

 **Right now, she feels like an empty shell I'm slowly filling in. In canon when she got to BB she was shocked and offended by Shadow Stalkers overly violent takedowns. Which, you know, fair. Stalker is a psycho, but that's just so,** ** _idealistic_** **, I guess. Then a few weeks later she pinned Skitter to the floor with a steal dart she left buried there to defend Parian... when all Skitter wanted to do was talk. She's not fleshed out enough in canon or in my mind yet. So, I'm going to work on that. Which would go better if Red Hood and Legend would stop hogging all the dialogue! Selfish shits. Here I am trying to develop a character and they have to up and steal the show.**

 **Anyway. Enjoy the update. And Merry Christmas to each and every one of you!**

* * *

{}{}{}{} Lily POV; Wards Weady Room 6PM

I was puttering. I didn't like the word or the implication that I was just wasting time, but when the boot fits… I hadn't seen Taylor since she stormed out last night. Not that she had been mad at us. Just, worried, and upset at the situation in general. She was great like that. Didn't even think about being angry at us. She just saw the situation, decided what she was going to do about it, and kicked into high gear.

I tried waiting up for her, but I'd been exhausted enough that even the couch felt heavenly. Waking up under a fluffy purple blanket had been nice. Especially once I realized Taylor must have traced it for me. She wasn't the best with words… Well that wasn't true. If you let her get going on a topic she felt strongly about, she could be really convincing. But when it came to people? She tended to be quieter. But the food, the little gestures like my new blanket, the way she always had time to listen? She cared about all of us. She just wasn't the best at saying it.

I didn't want her to go.

It was selfish of me, but I didn't want Taylor to run off to a dying city and leave me, _us_ , behind. The way the paperwork tended to slow everything down it would likely still take a few days for any transfer to go through. Especially after an Endbringer attack. Maybe I could offer to go with her?

Closing my eyes and leaning against the counter. I tried not to shudder at the painfully fresh memories of walls of water bearing down on me. Or the inhuman shape of Leviathan obscured by dark curtains of pouring rain. Even knowing that thing would not be there waiting this time, the idea of going back to that city was _intimidating_.

Still, if I could help support Taylor while she looked for her Dad? I had to offer. Only problem with that was that I hadn't been able to find her. She'd been gone when I woke up. I hadn't found her in the offices upstairs though that was apparently because Leviathan had killed our supervisor. She hadn't been in the gym or training room. Not hidden away in a corner of the tiny base library. A quick check of her PHO thread was enough to confirm she hadn't gone out to shoot her target either.

It was possible she'd gone out in civvies just to get away from the base, but she almost always left a note when she did that.

I'd knocked on her door hours ago, but got no response. It was possible she'd just decided to bottle herself up in her room but that didn't seem like something Taylor would do. She wasn't one for pointless moping. If there was a problem? She blew through it, or went around it. If she was holding out in her room… Well that was probably a bad sign all around.

Mind made up I headed for her door.

"Taylor, you in there?" I gave the door a few firm raps with my knuckles. All quiet. Well not all. There was, some faint giggles coming from Dani's room. I very carefully pushed away any feelings of jealousy to rap on the door again more firmly. "Taylor, I'm just worried about you. Can we talk?"

Still nothing.

Feeling a bit frustrated I reached out and grabbed the door knob, fully expecting it to be locked. To my immense surprise it turned easily. I hesitated there, with the door open only a crack. I didn't want Taylor to think I was being pushy or invading her privacy. But I was worried about her. With a deep breath I inched the door open giving ample time for her to protest if she really didn't want me around. But the room remained silent. And once the door was fully open and I stepped in I realized why.

Taylor wasn't in her room. In fact, a lot of Taylor's things weren't in the room either. Her drawers and closet were all open and at least half their contents missing. Various knives, darts, and throwing stars were left scattered about, along with what few pictures she'd had her Dad bring her.

It didn't take me long to put the pieces together. I'd left rooms in similar states a time or two. The fact she had left the pictures was encouraging. Even then it was rather obvious. Taylor had packed some essentials and _run_.

I was banging on Dani's door in seconds. There was a slight delay in which I realized what I was likely interrupting. Felt embarrassed about it. Then discarded that all together because this was more important than interrupting my teammates make out session. It was just enough time for Dani to stick her head of very tousled hair through the wall and pout at me.

"What, Lily?"

"Taylor's clothes are gone, and her room's a mess. I think she's run away!" I nearly shouted.

Dani's mouth hung open in shock and a muffled cry of "What?!" came from the other side of the door. A moment later Jason threw open the door, even as he was struggling to get back into his shirt.

"Are you sure, Lily?" He asked somehow managing to sound serious, and not at all embarrassed.

"Unless she got her transfer and left without saying goodbye?" I answered nervously.

Jason just cursed. "I would have gotten notification if she was being transferred, and so far, I haven't. Masks on. Costumes can wait. We need to report this to Icebreaker, now!" He was already passed me and heading for his room.

"Icebreaker didn't make it back!" I called after him and just like that Jason stopped on a dime.

"Damn it. I forgot about that. Shit, I'm going to miss that… No, not the time. Later. First we need to deal with this." He muttered shaking his head.

"Get into full costume. We'll need to report directly to Legend at the main office. Leave Fred be for now. He said he would need at least a week to get his gear up and running again. We'll talk to him once we know more."

{}{}{}{}

Phantom and I had automatically fallen in behind Red Hood. When he got into a mood like this it was just so easy to be swept up in his pace.

"We need to speak with Legend immediately. We have a time sensitive issue that has the potential to develop into a full blown emergency."

The secretary looked torn. "I'm sorry Legend is in a meeting right now, but-"

"Is he meeting with the Youth Guard?" Hood cut her off.

"No, but"

"Good. Then interrupting won't make things worse." And with that said he headed straight for the door, knocked twice, and walked in without waiting for a response.

Following in his wake I shared a grin with Phantom. I might not care for boys, but in moments like this, it was easy to see what she admired about his personality.

"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt," Hood sounded completely unapologetic. "but we've got a situation and it can't wait." The offices occupants were only Legend, and a large screen mounted on the wall showing the Chief Director. I swallowed my nerves, but Hood didn't so much as flinch. "Arsenal may have gone AWOL."

Legend closed his eyes and cradled his head in his hands, elbows resting on his desk. "Damn it." He tiredly muttered.

Costa Brown narrowed her eyes for a moment before shaking her head. "We've covered the major points. The rest can be sorted out later. Handle your situation, Legend." As she finished speaking the monitor shut off.

For a moment the office was silent. Legend took a deep breath and straightened in his seat. He looked exhausted. "You're sure?"

"Her rooms been half emptied." I spoke up. "And she's not answering my calls. I'm not sure if she tossed her phone, or just isn't answering…" I understood why she might not answer my calls, but the thought still stung a bit.

"Damn. She's been so restrained in the past, I'd hoped…"

"Boss?" Hood questioned.

"I had to reject her request for transfer. There's too much external focus on her at the moment to put her back on active duty early. Never mind transfer her somewhere we expect to see heavy fighting." Legend admitted. "If she waited a week or two, I could have gotten her transferred… I hoped she'd wait. She held still for three months before this!" He rubbed his temples.

Hood shook his head. "Boss, last time she had nothing to gain and everything to lose. This time… I won't say it's the opposite, but I can't blame her for putting her family first."

Legend nodded tiredly and tapped away at his computer. Moments later he cursed. "How on earth did she get that far so quickly?" Before we could ask the screen that previously displayed the Chief Director switched back on to show a map of the eastern seaboard. The single dotted line on it traced a path from New York to Brockton Bay where the signal was lost.

"Cell reception is going to be spotty in Brockton Bay, so I'm not surprised we lost her phone's tracker. I'm sure it's on the list of things to restore, but drinking and wastewater are going to be the top priority." Legend muttered.

No one said anything. I knew Taylor was driven and resourceful. And sure, I knew where she was heading, but to get there in… what eight hours? Less? I'd underestimated her.

"...We need to go after her." Hood spoke tiredly. "She's got issues with the East North East branch, right? They're the ones who put her in M/S confinement in the first place. She might cooperate enough to stay in touch in case they find her Dad first… But anything beyond that?" He shook his head.

"She'll assume they just want to send her back here?" I only half asked.

"Probably." Phantom agreed sounding just as dejected.

Legend gave us odd looks. "That would be their intent yes. They might have to foam her to bring her in, if she refuses to cooperate, but I'm sure they could lock her down without your assistance."

Hood looked to the ceiling as if asking for patience. I didn't make a show of it like he did, but I agreed with his sentiment.

"Sir, with all due respect the ENE branch have more pressing matters to deal with than trying to hunt down Arsenal. And if they tried, I'm fairly certain she would cut through the troopers like cardboard."

"Hood, she's not a villain. I highly doubt she would stoop to hurting LEO's."

"Even if they're picking a fight with her? A fight that she's not going to have the patience to deal with? Sir, she's never once cut loose in a fight or a spar. Even with Step I doubt we saw what she's capable of. You back her into a corner and she'll fight. Which is beside the point because they're not going to want to risk turning a friendly hostile with all the other shit on their plates."

"And you don't think the local heroes could get her back if they can't talk her down?" Legend asked, incredulous. "Hood, she's had her powers all of four months. The cities surviving capes have years of experience on her."

"And she's got a copilot who made a living running black ops." Hood shot back heatedly. "You try and arrest her to be shipped back here, and who knows how she'll react. More importantly, if you try to bring her in like a naughty child, any hope of getting her back into the Wards dies right there!"

Legend opened his mouth, then stopped and closed it as his face became thoughtful.

"You think you can soft sell her back into the Wards? I'll be honest, while it would be good to get her back onboard, if she's willing to go AWOL I'm not certain there's much point in trying."

"Maybe not." Hood admitted. "I can't tell you exactly what's going on in her head, Boss. She's angry, scared, and desperate. Maybe that bridge is burned, but if you try to capture her like some villain? That's just salting the earth. If she's going to come back it has to be her choice."

Legend was silent for a moment. "It's more complicated than that. If her father is dead, as a member of the Wards she would become a ward of the state. If that's the case, we can't be seen allowing her to run loose."

I cringed. If Taylor was ready to walk out because the Protectorate wouldn't let her search for her Dad, forcing her to stay with legal authority as her new guardian? She'd never accept that.

"The Youth Guard would use it as an excuse to stir up trouble. Even if her father is alive, she's our responsibility while her father's status is undetermined. Glenn's already going to throw a fit about the kind of damage she can do to our image. And that's just by existing outside of the Wards, never mind if she starts actively working to damage our reputation."

"All the more reason to try and fix this without pissing her off any more." Hood cut in sharply. "Boss I've read her file. I've talked with her. She's good with words when she wants to be." I guess I wasn't the only one to pick up on that. "All she has to do is record herself telling her story without bias and she'll have set off a shitstorm for the ages. I'm sure Glenn can do something to bury a scandal, but don't give her another reason to start swinging."

Legend looked us all over. "Do you honestly think you can convince her to come back?"

I glanced at Hood when he didn't answer immediately. I wanted to think we could convince her to come back, the pictures she left behind made me hopeful. But I couldn't be sure. I didn't even know what she was thinking beyond wanting to find her Dad.

"I don't know, Boss. But we've got a better chance than the locals."

Legend tapped a finger against his desk. "You do realize the city could very well become worse than Chicago ever was? And even if you can convince her to come back, I'll have to leave you all stationed there at least until the city stabilizes."

I winced. Though I'd never gotten all the details, the broad strokes of Red Hood's debut hunting down a street gang weren't pretty. From what I understood he was still on probation. And would continue to be so even after graduating from the Wards. If excessive force got him in trouble in the first place, repeat offenses would only make things worse.

In spite of that Hood only straightened his shoulders.

"All the more reason for me to go. You say it's going to be worse? Then it may very well come down to choosing who gets to walk away from a fight. You want us to let Arsenal run headlong into that shit without a friendly face to be found? You want some Ward who's never really hurt anyone to get tangled up in it? If nothing else, I at least know when to tell the regs to hang."

"Hood, that's my point! You can't just 'tell the regs to hang.' You could lose your probation, you could and end up in jail!"

"And following regs could leave people to die because we ran! Or get us killed because we held back against people trying to kill us!" Hood outright snarled. "Damn it, Boss. You think I'm the only one who sees it that way?!" I shifted nervously and glanced over to find Phantom similarly uncomfortable. I wanted to be a hero, I didn't really want to hurt people. Even criminals.

"I guarantee you if she's pressed hard enough Arsenal won't worry about criminals living to stand trial." Hood said coldly.

I closed my eyes and failed to not think about it. He was right. I'd spoken with her about it a few times since she joined. She didn't begrudge me my desire to not hurt people, but there was a certain conviction that she wore openly. She expected things to go bad. To eventually _require_ that sort of force.

Coming out of that bust to find her mostly composed after cutting off a man's hand had been unsettling. That she'd done it to save a man's life helped, but there was a disconnect there. Part of me wanted to claim she should be better than that, but I'd seen her helmet footage. It was a small miracle she'd been fast enough to save the officer at all.

I didn't want to think about that, and yet here I was. Ready to run off to a city where that kind of decision might just be necessary.

My eyes opened wide as something else hit me. Legend wasn't denying what Hood had said. He was angry about it, sure. But he wasn't denying that it might come down to fighting all out or letting people die.

"And what about your teammates, Hood. You seem to think you are ready to make decisions of life and death for others without any kind of oversight." Legend face and body language screamed disapproval. "And you want to put that same burden on your teammates." His voice was scathing.

For the first time since we walked in, I actually saw Hood hesitate.

"No, sir." Phantom and I glanced at each other before looking at our leaders back. "I won't ask them to go. If they think they can handle it, that's their choice. If they don't… I can respect that." He turned to look at both of us and there was a tired pain in his eyes, that I'd never seen before. "It's…" He actually seemed to struggle to find the words. "It's a shitty thing to live with." He finally settled on. "Even if your right. Even if it needed to be done… And it's so very easy to go too far… That's even harder to live with." He shrugged awkwardly before turning back to Legend.

The admission seemed to throw Legend off of his game if the look of surprise was anything to go by.

Could I choose who lived and died? Could I just decide for myself what was appropriate force and when retreating to leave others behind wasn't something I could accept? Could I leave Taylor to face that on her own, along with everything else she had to be dealing with?

"I'll go, sir." The words tasted like ash and hope. I didn't want this. I wanted to help people not hurt them. But Taylor was a friend. Dense as a brick, and too serious for her own good, but amazing all the same. She had been burned time and time again, I wouldn't let myself be added to that list.

"If Hood is going, I'm going too." Phantom cut in. "He means well, but he needs someone to keep him out of trouble." She stepped forward and hip checked her boyfriend lightly. Following her lead, I stepped up beside them as well.

Legend was silent for a time and we simply waited quietly for his decision.

"What about Gigawatt?" Legend finally asked.

"He's out of action for at least a week." Hood said carefully. "A lot of his gear was either lost or damaged in the fight, and he needs that long to get it all fixed or replaced."

Legend nodded slowly. Then tapped away at his computer for a time. Finally, he sighed and stood up resting his hands on the desk before him.

"Phantom you will need parental permission for this transfer. If you do not receive permission you will not go, is that clear?" I didn't look away from Legend but I assumed Phantom nodded her consent.

"You three just got through an Endbringer attack, and I'm not at all comfortable with you jumping right back into active duty. It's already been a day… I'm ordering you to take tomorrow off as well. I'll have transport to Brockton Bay arranged for you three the day after. Be packed and ready to go. This transfer could be as brief as a week, or it could last for a month or more."

I nodded in spite of the feeling of my stomach trying to rise up through my throat. It was exactly what we came here for, and I wasn't entirely sure I was happy to get it.

"Gigawatt will remain in New York. Even after his repairs are completed. You three will aid the Protectorate East North East branch with the ongoing crisis, and attempt to reestablish friendly contact with Arsenal. Try and convince her to rejoin the Wards."

"Yes, sir." Hood said neutrally and then turned leading us out of his office.

And just like that, I was committed.


	20. Chapter 18

**AN: Not a lot to say this time. We're back in the Bay now folks. Hold onto your seats, it's not going to go to pieces immediately, but it's not going to take long either. Oh and…. well not sure what's going to happen with this arc. Thought I did and then suddenly my whole world boiled down to the fact it was time to break the mold again. How badly only time will tell but there you go. I think I'm a little addicted to the rush I get surprising all of you. Eh, whatever there are worse things to get high on. You'll see what I mean in the next update.**

* * *

Controlled chaos.

That was the best way to describe the camp. It had taken only minutes to establish chain gangs to unload the trailer. The actual process could take hours given how much was crammed in there, but people were hard at work. Others had jumped on the first supplies off the truck and set to cooking. Still others were inventorying and organizing the new supplies. Some of them eyed me warily, but most stayed focused on their jobs.

I was waiting. Part of me wanted to pitch in, but I'd just be one more body. They had asked me to wait for the man in charge, so I'd wait. I couldn't search the entire city at once, but I could start by scanning this particular crowd for a certain balding head with black hair.

"Miss?" The voice was deep. The tone was cautious, but also firm. Turning I found the likely speaker happened to be a man in PRT uniform. No helmet, or foam sprayer, but he had the body armor and a sidearm. The fact he was actually carrying a gun said an awful lot about the current situation all on its own. The man was frowning and his hand hovered near his side arm.

"I'm Legacy." I offered him a handshake and a pained smile. "I'm actually from the Bay. Unfortunately, circumstances took me out of the city after I got my powers and I didn't make it to the teleport in time to come help with the fight. I'm actually here trying to find family."

The officer relaxed minutely.

"Lieutenant Jameson. I'm sorry to hear that, Legacy. I don't want to be blunt… but I don't recognize your name and given the state of the city…"

I smiled, a bit more honestly this time. "Hero, only been in the game a month now. My name is even newer than that." Shirou chuckled lightly at my misdirection.

"So, you're looking for family? I can offer to have their names flagged in our system if they come up." He trailed off as I shook my head.

"I appreciate the offer, but that would out me." And while I didn't actually care if I got outed or not, all it would take is someone realizing Dad and I were already in their files and suddenly I would have them hounding me. Maybe it was shooting myself in the foot to turn down an offer to help find him, but I didn't come all this way just to get sidelined now. "I'll keep the offer in mind if I don't turn anything up on my own. But I'll try and do this without compromising my identity first."

The lieutenant frowned, but nodded. "Can't say I'm surprised, but in that case, there isn't a lot we can do to help."

I chuckled lightly and shook my head. "No need to lie to me." I waved an arm out over the camp. "You all have so much on your plate as is. Helping me locate one civilian just isn't going to happen."

"I wish I could disagree with that." He muttered with a shake of his head. "Come on, the least I can do is show you the latest map."

{}{}{}{}

"Right, so we're here." He tapped at the map. "Just off of captains hill. It's the most intact portion of the city. We've got refugee camps established in the downtown area near HQ where we can deploy most easily to keep people safe. We've also got camps in the area north of the city's new lake, and well south of the trainyard. New Wave are providing the cape support, and we have a small detachment from the national guard to help maintain order."

"That's not even a third of the city." I muttered. The area around captains hill he had sketched wasn't much, and the portion of downtown he had indicated wasn't much bigger."

"Tidal Waves did a good job of scouring the cost clean." He elaborated dragging his finger a fair few blocks inland from the coastline. "And what they didn't get needs to be checked, and dried out. The Director instructed us to set up only in these areas until we know what the gangs will do. It makes sense, but it's going to limit how much space we have available."

"Are the gangs moving yet?"

"No, or at least not in force." He grimaced. "The Empire lost Kaiser, which means no one knows what the skinheads will do next. Still their territory is fairly intact. We think they will stay south of our new lake for the time being, unless whoever comes out on top decides to chase off any dissenting opinions. We've got reports of the ABB pushing west a bit from their normal territory which is part of why were boxed in so close to the hill here. The big issue, unbelievably, is the Merchants."

I glanced up sharply. "How could those idiots possibly be the biggest issue?"

"Squealer's vehicles are tough enough to not care about the condition of the roads. Which makes the Merchants the only truly mobile group in the city. They've spent the past day tearing all over hitting whatever strikes their fancy."

"You can't even tell me what's gang territory right now?" I let some of my frustration leak out into my voice.

"I can tell you not to go past the lake unless you want to tangle with the Nazi. We've got downtown mostly under control, and this area is safe enough, but beyond that…" He shrugged.

I blew out a breath and looked over the map again. The house wasn't in traditional ABB territory but if they'd moved far enough West it very well might be now. And if the Merchants were roaming wherever they pleased I'd have to keep an eye out for them as well. Not good. Not good at all.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll have to risk a trip into the city. I need to leave a note for my family if they head for home. After that... I guess I'll visit the different refugee camps and look in person." I looked up to meet the man's eyes. "I've got a radio built into my helmet. I'm not much of a mover, but if I'm close, I'll try to pitch in if you need me."

He looked up sharply at the mention of my radio. Technically speaking an independent really should not have access to the PRT and Police radio frequencies. Eventually though he just nodded acceptance. Bigger fish to fry I suppose.

"I'll stick around for the night and head out first thing in the morning. If you have any people or supplies you want to send to another camp, I'm willing to pitch in for security on my way out into the city."

His eyes lit up and a tired grin spread across his face. "Thank you, Legacy. I think I'll take you up on that offer."

{}{}{}{}

It was only barely light out, but sure enough we were on the move. An old box truck to carry supplies, with me riding shotgun again. We also had an old pickup with a half dozen National guard riding in the bed for escort duty. We had already needed to stop twice to clear debris for the vehicles. It was slow progress, but given how much walking I had ahead of me I wasn't about to complain.

"You sure you'll be alright out there, kid?" The driver, Mitch, asked for at least the third time as he gave me a skeptical look. "City really isn't safe right now."

"I was born and raised here. It's never been safe." I countered easily, more focused on scanning the road and buildings for threats than on the conversation.

Mitch snorted lightly. "True, but not this bad, and it'll only get worse."

"Fair enough." I conceded with a shrug. "But I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeves. Only ones I'd be worried about are Lung and Hookwolf." Not that I was really worried. I could deal with either one handily enough. It was just that doing so would mean a lot of property damage. I didn't really need the kind of attention that blowing them up would net me.

The Driver side eyed me skeptically, but didn't say anything further.

A few more minutes of moving in silence and the camp came into view.

{}{}{}{}

Moving on foot through flooded streets wasn't pleasant. The city, never a pretty place to begin with was now visibly damaged and scattered debris did nothing to improve it's looks. More than that though was the near oppressive silence. A city is meant to be if not loud then at least noisy. Car engines, people talking people, televisions and radios going. There was none of that now. Just my own footfalls and some distant noises. Occasionally I'd hear voices or see another person, but it was nothing compared to the norm. Just a few small groups of people moving about. Most were probably checking on their homes. Trying to see what, if anything was left.

The relative quite made everything seem strange. Now that I wasn't so high strung it was a lot like New York after the alarms shut off and most everyone was buttoned up in the shelters. I'd been to angry to think about it then but now it was kind of spooky.

It also made the sudden shouting stand out all the more.

Five men with improvised weapons, most ridiculously a golf club, were shouting at a four people who looked somewhere between eighteen and twenty. The fact that half the second group was also carrying something that could generously be considered a weapon made the scene less clear cut, but not by much.

I didn't bother with subtle I just picked up the pace and let the drum of combat boots on concrete and the splash of puddles announce my arrival. For a moment I was actually concerned the larger group wasn't going to notice me until I was on top of them. Fortunately, one of them was paying some attention to his surroundings and pointed me out to his buddies.

"You know I don't know what you all are arguing about, but I can tell you I don't really like the look of it." I spoke flatly. Part of me really wanted a weapon right now. But I could trace fast enough for it to be a non issue. Besides, if these idiots thought I could fire death rays from my mind they would be more likely to back down than if all they saw was a medieval Miss Militia. Which was stupid because my powers should be terrifying to anyone that stopped to think, but whatever. People underestimating my abilities was at least something I could use. Even if it grated.

 _"Stop that."_ Shirou muttered.

" _Did I think that out loud?"_

" _You did not, but you're radiating annoyance. Focus."_

Three of the larger group who I was mentally classifying as looters took steps back, one fidgeted a bit, and the last one snarled at me.

"Fuck off, bitch!" He paused to actually spit on the road. "I dunno who the fuck you think you are, but this is Merchant territory!"

"Uh-huh." I deadpanned. "You know I was born and raised here? Only been gone a few months, and wouldn't you know it, I missed the teleport to the fight." I said as casually as I could. "But I've got loose ends to tie up here so I hopped on the first aid truck I managed to track down. And from what I remember, the Merchants never held any territory worth the name." I smirked. "You really ought to just walk away boys. Five of you isn't even a workout." I stopped smirking and switched to a glare.

The fidgety one grabbed mouthy by the shoulder as if to pull him away. I was ready for a fight to break out when mouthy shook off his buddies' hand, but after a final muttered curse the gang twits moved away. Neither I, nor the smaller group moved until the gang members were well and truly out of sight.

"You alright?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes, thank you." The relieved thanks came from the only girl in the group. "I was really starting to worry." The boys with her nodded with varying levels of enthusiasm.

I bit my bottom lip. I wanted to help them, but I really needed to get to the house. The longer I delayed the more likely I was to miss Dad. "Where are you all going? I'm headed farther into the city right now, but I'll be moving back to the camps after I check something out. I'd offer to escort you back now, but the sooner I make this trip the better."

The four of them exchanged looks and started muttering to each other. I just sort of shifted from foot to foot awkwardly while I waited for them to decide. Finally, the girl threw her arms up and stormed my way.

"I don't mind a bit more walking if it means having a cape around. But they want to head north before making for the camps." She said it almost scathingly.

I nodded a bit hesitantly, and reached into my jacket pocket before tracing a can of pepper spray I handed off to her. She looked surprised at the offer and I shrugged.

"Cities not exactly safe right now. But, well, I wouldn't feel comfortable offering someone without training anything more serious." She smiled gratefully and excepted it. The boys shook their heads and our new groups went our separate ways.

"So… I'm Kim." The girl offered with a hesitant smile. I graced the tiny, frazzled looking, brunette with a tired grin.

"Legacy."

"... Did you mean what you said to those Merchants?"

"... Yeah." I sighed. "My whole team came, and I wasn't supposed to. Didn't know where the attack was happening and… When they told me it was already too late. I was halfway across city and I didn't have time to make it." I closed my eyes briefly and took a deep breath.

"Your team, did they...?" she trailed off.

"They all made it back alive." I grinned. "A bit battered and bruised but they made it back. Did anyone you know…"

She seemed to sag into herself. "I don't know. My family was all in different parts of the city. I checked the house, and left a note, but now…"

I reached over and pulled the older girl I had something like seven inches on into a one armed side hug.

"I'm headed to my old house to leave a note of my own." I said quietly. I managed not to jump as the girl squeezed me back. We stepped apart and went back to walking in silence for a time.

"I probably should have asked this first." Kim finally spoke up. "But, uhm, what team were you on? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm just glad to have someone around that can chase of creeps, but you are a hero, right?" She fidgeted a bit nervously and I had to laugh.

"I uh, I actually ran away from the Wards to get here and look for my family. I was in New York for the past few months." Kim gaped at me. "I was supposed to be on leave after a fight got really violent. Legend wanted me to sit around on my ass for a couple of weeks before he'd let me transfer in… So, I grabbed some clothes and took off." I shrugged helplessly.

"Damn, that is just…" She laughed, it didn't quite sound right. A bit too relieved, a bit too… something. Given the situation, I couldn't say I blamed her. People's reactions could get really weird when they are stressed. And given a day's space? Yeah. Just grabbing some essentials and booking it was kind of funny. I hoped my absence was enough to cause the flying lightbulb migraines. That thought was enough to set off my own slightly manic giggles.

"Like I said before." I spoke after the giggles subsided. "Once I leave a message, maybe grab some photos, I'm heading back to the camps. There won't be any kind of comprehensive lists just yet. With everything going on it might take days. So, for now I've got to search in person." I shrugged uncomfortably. "If you're doing the same thing you're welcome to tag along." I offered honestly.

Kim shot me a watery grin and nodded energetically.

This was being a hero. Lily's kind of hero. Helping people who needed it, because I was there and could do something. It wasn't the kind of hero needed to fix the world. But it was the best, the most heroic, I'd felt since I put on the mask.

I smiled back honestly.

{}{}{}{}

I left a message carved into the dining room table. I left with a waterproof box full of frameless photos. I left with more fear and uncertainty. But also, with more determination and drive. I would find him. Even if I had to search the whole damn city, I would find him.


	21. Chapter 19

**AN: I got a few reviews concerned I was going to surprise you for the sake of it. Don't worry the idea came first, and I loved it. Surprising all of you is just gravy. See I realized this fic isn't just about Taylor and Shirou anymore, and the writing should reflect that. I've decided not to limit interludes to the end of arcs for now. I don't think it'll be one to one but I'm not certain just yet. I'm just… Ehh, let's say I'm letting myself get lost in the flow a little bit :)**

 **So, without further delay**

 **Interlude: Lily**

* * *

I fidgeted nervously as I sat on Jason's left. Dani was to his right and the survivors of the Brockton Bay wards sat across from us. Gallant, Vista, and Clockblocker. Clockblocker was missing his right leg mid ankle down, though he assured us it was only temporary. Gallant was in a very generic grey costume because his power armor was destroyed in the attack, but he was otherwise alright. Apparently, another member, Browbeat, had also survived but after getting injured in the attack his parents panicked and pulled him out of the program.

Our new teammates… or maybe that was a bad way to think about them. This was their home and their team. We were the newcomers after all. Regardless, there was a definite air of caution about the boys, and Vista seemed to be on the verge of outright hostility. Not great considering we hadn't had time to do more than exchange names yet.

"Alright." Jason sighed as he placed a closed file on the table between us. "Let's clear the air." He looked directly at Clockblocker. "My team and I requested a temporary transfer here the day after the fight. The reason for that request," he flipped open the folder showing Taylor's file complete with a picture of her in and out of costume. "is her. That's Arsenal and as of three days ago she ran away from New York, and our team, to get here."

Gallant, Dean leaned forwards and a momentary look of shock flashed across his face. "I recognize her." The other two turned to look at him. "I got called in to help with her MS screening right before..."

Dennis's head snapped around. "Wait, this is the girl who Stalker triggered?" Missy stopped glaring at us in favor of looking at her teammates. Something I did as well.

"Wait what? You know who caused her trigger?" I glanced over at Jason who rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"The cities director attempted to reform a vigilante. The girl caused Taylor's trigger in her civilian identity." I snapped around to look incredulously at the ENE Wards.

Denis raised his arms in a warding gesture. "Hey, not our idea, not our fault. We all knew she was a bitch, word straight from the Director was to just deal with it."

Jason tapped the table to draw attention. "It was all in her file." He shot me a look. "It was her business and I wasn't going to discuss it without her permission. That issue was resolved. She took off on us because her Dad was here when the attack happened." That drew winces from the local Wards. "She tried to request a transfer first, but that got shot down because she was on mandatory leave. She wasn't willing to wait two weeks to come looking. So, now she's here without backup, or oversight, on a manhunt. My team and I requested this transfer to come after her."

Jason took a moment to look right at Dennis. "I didn't intend to get put in charge here, that decision came from higher up the chain."

Dennis shook his head and grimaced. "You're welcome to the job. Was only ever going to be in charge for a month or two, and after losing Carlos… never really wanted the job in the first place. Besides I'm no good to anyone until Panacea can replace my leg." He gestured at the stump. I tried not to look. The empty space made my gut twist in ways I had a hard time describing.

Jason dipped his head.

Missy had looked away from the conversation in favor of examining Taylor's file.

"We got a report about her yesterday." She said before reaching for a nearby tablet. "The costume isn't a perfect match. I think she ditched the skirt for a sash or something… yeah, here it is." She slid the tablet around to show us. "She's calling herself Legacy though."

"Captains Hill." Dani muttered. "Is that nearby or."

"It's not." Gallant answered almost absently as he looked over Taylor's file. "It's about halfway across the city, and there is a lot of gang territory between here and there. Right now, we've got orders to stick to the downtown area. Only the Protectorate capes are going into the gang territories. We've got our hands full just maintaining order here."

I shot a look at Jason who was just leaning back and rubbing the palms of his hands into his eyes. "Damn."

"So, are you all going to take off after her then?" Missy asked with an edge. "And what happens when you get her back? Are you all going to just head back to New York?" The implication that we didn't care about them or their city was more pointed than I had expected.

"We're here until the situation stabilizes." I offered ignoring the first question. Part of me wanted to tear off and find Taylor, but it wasn't exactly my call to make. "Legend made it clear we could be here for a few months if that's what it takes."

"We aren't going after Taylor yet either." Jason spoke up without looking at anyone. "She's got two weeks of mandatory leave. If we let her run around that long before we try getting her back… we might get lucky and just convince people she was on leave then came to join us here as soon as she could. She's not going to go for any plan that involves her leaving, not unless she finds her Dad. Maybe not even then."

I doubted we would get that lucky. Someone would put the pieces together, and then we would have a scandal on our hands. That kind of attention and the restrictions it would bring… She wasn't going to like that at all.

"Besides if she can't find her Dad in that area of the city, she'll have no choice but to come to us. No point rocking the boat just yet." He checked his watch. "According the schedule your director forwarded me Vista and Gallant are due for a patrol. I'd rather we all get used to working with each other as soon as possible though, and we need to get familiar with the City… "Vista, would you mind taking the girls with you instead, while the guys get me up to speed?"

Missy cast a mulish look Dean's way before nodding acceptance.

{}{}{}{}

Watching someone young enough that Legend would have locked up in the club house team crunch whole streets into a handful of steps was impressive. Watching her go about patrol with the bearing of a veteran member of the Protectorate rather than get sucked into the lighthearted banter Phantom and I tried to get going was actually a little disturbing. She had the same serious barring about her that Hood and Arsenal could seemingly to summon out of thin air. What worried me was, I had yet to see her drop it.

Still, it had only been an hour and we were on patrol.

"There." Vista pointed ahead at a half hazard collection of tents and tarps. People milled about. Some coming in with bags filled with what were presumably rescued possessions and others going out with determined looks. Most of them were carrying something they could use as a weapon. Lengths of pipe, sporting equipment, knives. There wasn't any theme or standard just whatever they could find which could conceivably be used to hurt someone.

She scrunched space once more those this time noticeably slower. "We'll have to walk normally. My power doesn't work very well around so many people."

I nodded and tucked the tidbit away. Knowing what your teammates could and couldn't do was the absolute basics.

Stepping through compressed space we must have looked like we blurred into existence. The people tensed up at first. Then they seemed to relax. I didn't quite understand until I caught someone's eyes dart to Vista before they calmed down. They didn't recognize phantom and I. We were unknowns here. They were afraid of us. It made sense. It was prudent of them. It still stung.

Would the villains here really be so brazen as to just march up to an aid camp in broad daylight? Especially one only a few miles from the PRT's main office?

Walking through the camp we stopped to talk with the troopers. Just the troopers. None of the civilians seemed to want to speak with us. It was odd. In any crowd there was at least one person that was brave enough to march up to us and start asking stupid questions, but not here. The why bothered me like a loose tooth. Not really painful, but odd enough to keep me poking at it.

Were they afraid? Were they angry? I doubted they were really in shock from the attack given that had been days ago… Then again maybe that was insensitive. How much time did it take for the reality of an Endbringer attack take to sink in? Maybe they just had to much going on to get excited about heroes.

In the middle of our second camp I realized that Phantom and I had stopped trying to banter with Vista. We'd stopped bantering with each other as well. I wasn't even sure when we had stopped. There was a weight in the stares of the people around us that seemed to settle on my shoulders and in my gut. It hounded me, asking why I wasn't doing more? Why I wasn't doing anything?

I wanted to help these people, but I had no idea how to do so. I couldn't repair the city or return their possessions and loved ones. All I could do was try and keep crime rates down. I couldn't even do that from here because the criminals were out in the city and it would be next to impossible to tell the looters from those trying to reclaim their possessions.

We were all but useless here.

The sound of shouting and flesh against flesh was almost a relief. It gave me something familiar to deal with. Phantom went intangible and ghosted right through the crowd. Even though she wasn't physically touching anyone, people still lurched back in surprise. I followed in her wake making full use of the space opening in her wake. The sound of light steps behind me hinted that Vista was right behind me.

We got to the scene just in time to see what looked like a fight between two people devolve into an all out brawl. At least twenty people ranging from late teens to early forties throwing fists and feet at anything that moved all screaming and shouting. There was a moment of perfect clarity before Phantom dove into the mess where I saw a man's nose break and blood begin flowing.

I shouted for them to stop but it was too far gone for that to work.

Then I was in the mess trying to pin people's shoes to the ground with darts and dodge punches. Ethereal blue beams flashed in the corners of my vision as Phantom literally cooled off the mass of angry humanity. Then I caught a blow to the back of the head and the fight became hazy blur I did my best to stumble through.

{}{}{}{}

I gingerly sat on the couch and leaned back until the backrest could take up the job of holding the ice pack against the back of my head. Dani wearing a worried expression darted around me in a circle, casually phasing through the couch when it got in her way.

"Dani, would you _please_ sit down? You're making me dizzy." I asked closing my eyes so I wouldn't be tempted to try and follow her progress. When I opened them, the girl was pouting at me from across the coffee table where she was seated in a recliner.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She asked, wringing her hands.

I gave her a slight smile in spite of my mounting exasperation. "Medic said I'm fine apart from some bruising. No concussion. I'll be alright.

Jason marched into the room closely followed by Dean. Both boys carried a small crate.

"Right, so, I probably should have thought about this before, but given Dani is the only one of us three with variable lethality and we are going to be dealing with a lot of angry civvies… We'll I come bearing gifts." Missy poked her head out of her room, freshly changed into casual clothes.

"We've got tasers and batons for everyone. I wanted to snag some confoam grenades, but I'm not willing to threaten the quartermaster just yet." Jason started laying out the weapons in question on top of the coffee table.

Missy eased up to the table and slowly picked up a taser as if she expected one of us to take it away.

"How'd you get this past Piggot? They've never let me have any kind of weapon before." Missy asked with no small amount of suspicion.

"Permission? To get people I'm responsible for the tools they need to do their jobs safely?" Jason shook his head. "Forget that. You, Dean and Lily are all soft targets. Dennis too once he gets back on his feet."

The pun earned an appreciative snort from said redhead.

"My options are punch people or blow them through a wall. These aren't much, but they give all of us a few more options."

Missy eyed Jason cautiously. Finally, she gave a decisive nod and snapped up a baton as well before rushing back to her room. Planning to hide them maybe?

Critically I eyed the spread on the table and had to admit he was right. A baton would have been nice to have in the middle of that melee… Though really, I should have stayed on the fringes and kept to sticking people to the ground by their shoes. Getting in that mess had been a mistake. I'd just never seen a bunch of normal people keep fighting after capes got involved before. Gangsters? Sure, plenty of times. But regular people… Well once or twice if they were high on something. But those people hadn't been. They were just angry.

I'd have to be more careful. Legend warned us that things would be bad here. I suppose I just hadn't realized how bad.

Jason gave me an assessing look. He probably wanted to ask how I was doing, but in the end, he only shook his head and told me to take it easy for the rest of the night. I vaguely registered him asking Dani to help him raid the cafeteria for everyone and then the room settled into silence that made me want to twitch.

I never liked the quiet moments, or being alone. Here I was up to my neck in a mess like I'd never seen before chasing after a girl who might not… She was just so serious. I'd never met someone who managed to hide their preferences by being convinced no one out there would want them before. Yet here I was, even if only as a friend she deserved to have someone in her corner for once.

"You alright?"

My eyes popped open to find Dean seated across from me. "It's just some bruising and a headache. I'll be alright tomorrow."

He shook his head. "Ah, that's good, but I meant… I'm an empath I can see emotions and you're… a bit all over the place." He ruefully rubbed the back of his neck. "I try not to pry, but I tend to worry about people."

I blew out a breath and leaned back. I closed my eyes and martialed my thoughts before answering and even then I kept my eyes closed. "I'm here chasing after a friend I want more from. A friend who may never be interested in more. I've been here all of one day and I've gotten my but kicked by a bunch of civilians. I haven't even seen your cities villains yet." I cracked my eyes open and favored him with a wry smile. "I think I have every right to be a little worried, and that's not counting the blow to the head."

It felt nice to admit it out loud. Dani knew, even if I hadn't ever come out and said it. She was observant. And if she knew Jason knew. But, well… Dani was positive enough to encourage anything and Jason for all of his good traits was not a romantic. Fred… ughh, no. The fact that we both liked girls did not mean I wanted to be one of the boys. Dean didn't know me, or Taylor. With any luck he'd actually give an unbiased opinion.

"Ahh." he blushed lightly but didn't say anything.

I cocked an eyebrow. "That's it, ahh? No questioning my sanity? No platitudes about finding the one someday? No warnings not to get my hopes up? Just, ahh?"

He twitched a bit in his seat. "My girlfriend and I have broken up and gotten back together six times now." He grinned sheepishly. "Everyone thinks we're crazy. They keep telling me to just find someone else to date." He shrugged. "She's worth it, and I guess I am too since she keeps taking me back." He smiled softly.

Something inside of me uncoiled.

"I don't know if things will work out for you." Dean admitted. "But if you were willing to leave everything behind just to come after her? It sounds like she's worth it to you."

I closed my eyes and thought back on all the moments Taylor and I had shared. My lips twitched upwards. "I think she could be."

Dean smiled warmly at me. "Then that's really all there is to it isn't it?"

"I guess you're right." I smiled back. "Thanks."

"Anytime."


	22. Chapter 20

**AN: Sorry about the delay folks I got pretty hung up trying to decide what was a reasonable national gaurd pressence which was a ballancing act of, 'they don't even seem to exist in canon worm', and 'there is no way they are not a thing or wouldn't be utilized for post kaju disaster relief'. That led to some rewrites which beet my muse unconcious for a time. Still, I worked it out, and it only took one detour to my snippets thread, so I'm calling it a win.**

 **Enjoy folks, read and review!**

* * *

 **Five days post Leviathan**

I scrubbed the damp towel over my hair, trying to get rid of the worst of the oily feel. I hadn't seen a shower since leaving New York. From the rumor mill about the camps that wasn't likely to change any time soon. The whole city was dependent on bottled water right now, so getting by with infrequent sponge baths was the only option that didn't involve rain.

"They never mention this when they talk about being a hero." I growled under my breath.

" _Be glad you aren't in a dessert. The dust mixing with sweat on your skin is worse."_ Shirou quipped dryly.

I grimaced at the mental image. Wisely I let the topic drop and set about scrubbing my face. _"I've checked every camp in this part of the city twice now. I think it's time to move on."_ Hiding the growing white streak in my hair had been a royal pain without dye, but I'd managed to ask around without my mask. Scanning the crowds as Legacy hadn't produced any better results.

There had been a few awkward conversations with former dockworkers, but not many. The docks were about as close to Captains Hill as Downtown so I could only assume most of them had been funneled that way for some reason.

Finishing my unsatisfying scrub down I ran the damp cloth through my helmet a few times to try and keep that clean before packing up what little I had out.

" _About that… I'm not sure you should leave the area."_

" _What?"_ That statement earned Shirou my full attention. _"Shirou, Dad's not here. I've looked. Staying and looking a third time won't magically conjure him out of thin air. I need to move on if I'm going to find him."_

" _I know."_ His voice was steady, neutral. _"But if you leave who will be here to head off any attacks?"_ And just like that my every plan ground to a halt. _"Since you arrived, we have only caught the briefest glimpses of New Wave. Always in the air. Never in the camps. Sometimes farther back in the sections of the city which are still considered safe. Sometimes out in the contested regions. But they are not guarding. They are not attacking, or at least not against more than small groups of looters."_ Shirou kept going. _"The National Guard presence is enough to deter small groups. But if certain Parahumans attacked, backed by their gangs… it might not be enough."_

" _What are you… No, you might have a point."_ I'd only seen Merchants mucking around but even they might be too much of a threat for normals with guns. For all that they were bottom barrel capes they were still capes. If Squealer came with a tank and Skidmark placed one of his fields in front of it they could chew through the Guard without even trying. _"There are four camps."_ I protested. _"I can't protect them by myself. In the time it takes to get from here to even the closest camp whoever attacked would be long gone!"_

" _I know. It's not perfect, but your presence is better than nothing."_ He countered. _"And the gangs are growing bolder. You've seen it."_

I had. The groups roaming the streets were growing larger, and more violent. I'd come across a handful of people who had taken beatings, and there were rumors about at least a few deaths. Worse trying to lock people up in the current situation was difficult at best. The LEO's had nowhere to put anyone they arrested. They tried to ship them out whenever they could, but it was one more vehicle that needed escorting. It couldn't be organized at the drop of a hat. At any given time the camps might have a handful of criminals in holding areas. It wasn't ideal, but it's what we had to work with.

" _If you leave these people now you leave them vulnerable. Could you live with yourself if you walk away now and people suffer for it?"_

As if just to mock me and emphasize his point, sounds started filtering into the room I was using to wash. The roar of engines, shriek of car horns and the spine chilling bangs of gunfire, a good way off, but getting closer quickly. My helmet was on and I was running through the camp dodging people trying to go the other direction without a second thought.

"Make a hole!" I shouted into the crowd. I was well enough known after the past few days that no one questioned me. They even opened up a path. From the camps location I could just see bits of the highway. It was on slightly higher ground than the camp, but not by a whole lot, and it had been cleared of cars so as not to block the aid vehicles. Maybe three mile out and closing fast was an eighteen wheeler, no doubt the aid truck were expecting. On either side was a military vehicle with roof mounted machine guns. Those guns were firing in bursts at something chasing them.

"Are those Tanks?!"

" _Not any kind I've seen before. Just... armored cars."_ Shirou seemed torn between concerned and bemused.

"Merchants." I snarled under my breath. Glancing around I headed for a three story brick building near the edge of the camp. With a deep breath I pushed energy into my body reinforcing myself. At the base of the building I jumped. I had been playing with this a bit but I didn't quite _know_ just what I was capable off. Between my growing skill, and the general lack of need, self reinforcement for anything beyond archery was a skill I hadn't practiced much. So, I was only a little startled when I cleared the second story window ledge by a foot, and nearly slipped when I came back down to rest my toes on that stupidly small two and a half inch lip.

"I need to practice this more often." I muttered before crouching and making another, more awkward jump that put me on the roof of the building. This time I cleared it by a foot and a half, but with more space to land it was a lot less nerve wracking.

Now I could really see what was going on. The aid truck wasn't doing so great. At least a few tires were blown, and there were bullet holes in the trailer. Chasing it? four vehicles that might once have been Jeeps and SUV's. They had enough steel welded onto the outside as armor to make me want to cringe on behalf of their poor suspension. They were ugly, clunky, and had what looked like assault rifles repurposed as mounted turrets. Considering they were welded on, they only shot straight in line with the vehicle. Stupid, but the person who made them was likely high as kite at the time. It was a small miracle the ad hoc ammo belts actually worked.

As easily as breathing I traced my bow. Normal arrows, well, normal sword arrows, might have worked, but I didn't want to leave anything to chance against tinker armor. I drew on a particular sword that had caught my eye some time ago. An arming sword wielded by a number of knights over the years which failed to make its way into myth and legend. It was enchanted to slice through armor as easily as flesh, but only armor. When clashing against another sword or shield it was simply an average blade. It had been used by a string of knights who each became cocky and inevitably died at the hand of opponents who actually kept up their training.

" _Good choice."_ Shirou muttered.

It wasn't a noble phantasm. It didn't even have a name. Modifying the blade into an arrow took only a moment. They were a mile and a half out now. I could make that shot. It was as simple as draw, aim, _release_.

The first arrow buried itself halfway to the fletching, through the armor plating and into what I sincerely hoped was a normal engine block. I didn't want to imagine what might happen if that lunatic powered her monstrosities with something like nuclear reactors. By the time I'd given each vehicle a similar present the lead car had black smoke coming out from under the hood and was noticeably slowing. The aid truck and its escorts were pulling away and actually blew past the off ramp, wisely choosing not to slow down. I gave every enemy car one more arrow just to be sure. They got past the exit ramp, but that was only thanks to momentum.

The guns from both groups fell silent and I breathed out in relief. I wouldn't relax until the Merchants were dealt with and I knew the escort cars didn't have wounded. At least now we had a little bit of breathing room.

"Legacy!" The shout from street level pulled my attention off of the cars. I leaned over the ledge to see a half dozen people in three different uniforms and a small collection of civvies with makeshift weapons. "What's the situation?!" The PRT trooper called up.

"Aid truck was getting chased by Merchant armored cars." I called back. "I stopped the cars, but the truck kept going down the highway!" I glanced up again looking down the road. "Looks like they're idling about a mile and a half past us. Merchants aren't doing anything yet, but I doubt that'll last. I could shoot through the cars, but I'd probably kill them. Not sure I should escalate things like that when they're already stuck."

The civilians started cursing and exchanging looks. The LEO's and the guys from the national guard started muttering to each other and gesturing. Taking one last look I confirmed that there really wasn't anything more I could do from here. I momentarily considered just dropping down to the ground. With reinforcing I'd be fine… probably. I would be! But there was no reason to take the risk when I had time to be smart about it. So, one grappling hook later I repelled down the side of the building to join the discussion on the ground.

"Look we've got to get the damn things off the highway so we can get those supplies!"

"And I said I heard you the first damn time you said it, but that doesn't answer the question of how we deal with a bunch of strung out druggies armed with guns! The only cover up there is the cars, and even the Merchants are smart enough to use them for cover. They'd gun us down before we even got close."

"The escort cars are up there and they have machine guns!"

"I can see those things from here and they have enough armor to tank shots from an RPG. I'd rather not waste bullets shooting at tanks while the people in them shoot back at us."

"Well we have a cape! They can't deal with that!"

" _Right, time to put my foot down."_ I thought as I turned an unimpressed glare on the idiot who voiced that last statement. "The cape," I interjected, voice dripping sarcasm. "would like to point out that she is here, listening, and not a weapon you point at the bad guys to solve every problem for you." I mean, I kind of was, but unless they wanted me to kill everyone in those cars, I wasn't the solution to the problem. Besides which, I wasn't going to let them walk all over me. That way lay nothing but trouble.

The idiot had the decency to look embarrassed. The chuckling that followed defused some of the tension.

One of the boys in blue fingered the strap on his holster. He never quite undid the clasp, but his fingers didn't move off of it either. "If we wait long enough, they'll have to move. They don't have the patience to sit still." He muttered. "The problem is figuring out what they'll do when they start moving. They can't catch the aid truck on foot, and if they try the escort will chew them to bits. They can't hope to take the camp… My guess is they'll run. But not until they're desperate enough to risk getting shot."

"Unless they try for hostages." I muttered darkly my own eyes tracking along the edge of the highway.

The officer shook his head. "Doubtful. You shut them down with arrows. They know a cape is involved. And they'd have to get from the highway to the camp. That's all open ground. They would need to be a particularly rare breed of stupid to try that."

"Or high." Someone muttered which was a thought that grated on all of us.

"I'll grab the bullhorn." The officer offered. "Should be able to get most of the way up the hill without being exposed. Legacy, if you wouldn't mind going back up and keeping them honest?" I nodded confirmation. "Then we'll see if we can't get them to surrender without a fight."

{}{}{}{}

In the end I'd needed to give the Merchants a little push to surrender. Honestly though, one more arrow through an engine block was a lot less than I thought it would take. They'd been hustled off to the camps makeshift holding pen rather quickly after that.

Clearing the wrecks off the road and unloading the supplies had taken long enough that the sun was starting to set. But I couldn't sleep. Not yet. I needed to have a discussion with several people about the security of the camps. That brought me to the command tent.

Command primarily fell to the national guard, who were being led by a Colonel Potter. They were taking the lead by virtue of being trained for this, and having the most personnel and resources to throw at the problem. The PRT interests in this section of the city were being represented by Lieutenant Baker, and finally the police, had dug up one nearly retired Lieutenant Jones. The leadership gathered here because this camp was the largest in the area, and the central hub where supplies were delivered before being redistributed.

"Legacy." Baker gave me a tired grin as I slipped into the tent. "Thanks again for all your help this afternoon. Stopping those armored cars made things a lot simpler."

I grinned back at the man. "Happy to help, though I don't think you'll be too happy to see me once I start talking."

That got frowns all around the room.

"What's the issue, kid." I didn't bother bristling at Jones' nickname. He didn't mean anything by it. He was just the kind of guy to call anyone under twenty five kid.

"I haven't had any luck finding my family, and I've checked every camp twice now." I shrugged. "I was planning to work my way south. Check the hospital in Empire territory, then swing east into downtown." All three men gave me concerned looks I waved off. "I've got a few ideas for getting through their territory, but that's all on hold right now." I looked each man in the eye. "You all are doing your best, but you don't have the people to really protect the camps if capes get involved. Besides, I can't be everywhere. If I'd been at a different camp this afternoon, we might have lost that aid truck. We got lucky." I shrugged.

"What are you thinking, Legacy." Potter asked gruffly.

I blew out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. "I don't know." I admitted slowly. "I guess I'm trying to figure out what the bigger picture looks like. I can't just leave everyone here without hero support. I know the Protectorate hasn't really stopped by. I've barely seen New Wave, and never in the camps, have I just had bad timing, or?" I trailed off as I took in the officers' unhappy looks.

Baker shook his head. "New Wave hasn't done much since Leviathan. I know Glory Girl has made a few trips playing taxi for Panacea, but that's about it. They lost Brandish and Manpower in the Leviathan fight." He spoke somberly.

I closed my eyes and bowed my head. That would certainly explain a few things. For all that New Wave got talked up, they'd been slowing down for years. Laserdream and Shielder had all but dropped out of the cape scene to focus on either College or getting grades good enough to get into college. The adults were in their early forties, and while that wasn't that old, it was old enough to slow them down. The fact they had to balance jobs certainly didn't encourage running around at all hours of the night. Honestly before I left it had seemed like the only ones from that family to do any consistent hero work were Panacea and Glory Girl. If they were out of the habit and reeling from losses?

"Damn." I muttered. "Forget me leaving to check other parts of the city. If we can't get some help here, we're going to lose camps sooner or later." The Merchant attack from this afternoon was proof enough. Sooner or later the gangs would start pushing.

Baker rubbed his forehead. "Downtown has been dealing with probing attacks from all three gangs, and all the same issues we've been having. With only the Merchants on our borders the director has been less concerned about us. I can tell you right now she won't station anyone out here who won't be able to get back in a hurry."

"And we've got just about every heroic flyer in the city, _here_." Jones growled. "And they aren't doing anyone any good."

Potter drummed his fingers on the edge of the tents rickety map table. "Do we know where they live? If we can't get in touch by phone or radio someone could go speak to them in person. I don't like the idea of intruding on a grieving family, but we need all the help we can get."

The LEO's shared a look and shook their heads.

"No." Baker admitted. "But I can find out. I'm sure it's on file, even if I don't know it off the top of my head."

"Let me know when you do." I spoke up. "People are used to me coming and going. If I take off for a bit it won't spark any rumors. Besides, if it needs to be by foot, I can make the trip faster."

The three men nodded all looking a little relieved they wouldn't be the one to intrude on the grieving family of capes that could casually take them apart.

"Thank you, Legacy." Potter murmured. I threw a casual wave over my shoulder as I exited the tent in search of a place to sleep.

{}{}{}{}

" _Do you have any kind of plan beyond knocking on their door and asking for help?"_ Shirou asked with very clear and unwelcome skepticism.

" _Well, I plan to introduce myself first."_ Not my best comeback, but I felt the dry delivery was worth a few extra points.

" _Taylor…"_

" _Look what do you want from me? I've never met them. I have no idea how they are feeling, or how they will react. We don't really have time to beat around the bush here either."_

The house in question was actually the second I had visited. The Pelham family home had been quiet, dark, and empty. Here though, the Dalon's house, there was an audible hum from a generator and a few lights were on. The outsider of the house was a bit of a mess, but nothing like the buildings closer to shore.

"Here goes nothing." I whispered. With a deep breath I marched up to the door and gave it a few solid raps. Then I stepped back a good four steps, because heroes or not it was a house full of emotional capes and they didn't know me.

The door opened to reveal a very tired looking boy with blue hair. He looked me up and down and pointedly did not invite me in. "If you're here looking for a fight you might want to rethink that. Vicky would probably jump at any excuse."

I shook my head. "I'm a hero, Legacy. I'm here on behalf of the aid camps around Captains Hill."

That at least got him to raise an eyebrow. "What do they want with us. Do they need Amy to heal some people?"

Holy shit, did they just not know what was going on in the city?

"I doubt they would say no to her coming by. But more than that they need cape support. The National Guard are out in force but they aren't equipped to deal with Squealer's rides. And I can't be everywhere at once."

He looked at me funny and shook his head. "So, get the Protectorate to help out."

I shook my head. "The director's dealing with all three gangs putting pressure on Downtown. She won't commit any capes to this part of the city unless they can get back in a hurry."

He grimaced and seemed to mull that over. "Wait here." And without another word he disappeared into the house leaving me on the front porch.

" _Well, that could have gone worse."_ Shirou admitted.

" _I'm taking it as a small win."_ I agreed.

When the door opened again it was Sarah Pelham, looking twice as tired and far grimmer than her son. "Eric said you're from the camps and looking for help?" She asked cautiously.

I nodded. "The Merchants have been trying to grab the aid trucks harassing anyone leaving the camps. The National Guard are doing what they can but the Squealer has been modifying cars. And if Mush shows up there won't be much they can do."

She closed her eyes and rested her head against the edge of the door. "Damn it. My family is a mess and you want us to split up?"

"... I'm sorry. I know this sucks. But I'm the only cape the camps even have right now." I tried to wet my suddenly dry lips. "I can cover one camp, but if they hit somewhere, I'm not…" I shrugged. "I know losing family sucks. I'm not even sure if the last of mine survived the attack." And God, how I hated to admit that uncertainty out loud. It made it all the more real and unbearable. "But there's no one else to turn to."

"My children are wrecks." She spoke slowly. " _I'm_ a wreck. Vicky is liable to kill someone if she gets into a fight right now and Amy has all but shut down. Topping that off we are keeping my brother in law on suicide watch." She opened her eyes and gave me a look. "We're in no state to help anyone."

What was I supposed to say to that? What _could_ I say to that? It wasn't all going to suddenly be ok. It wasn't going to be alright. It was going to suck and hurt and only time would ever even numb the pain. Even then something might very well draw it right back up to the surface when they least expected it. And to watch all the camps her family would have to split up when they were already hurting. And that wasn't even touching on the apparent suicide watch. I shook my head and stepped back.

"I'm sorry. I know it's not fair to ask." I closed my eyes and blew out a breath. "But I'm asking anyway." I opened my eyes and gave her a small smile that I hoped didn't seem like a grimace. "I need to get back now. I hope I'll see you all." My piece said I turned and jogged off. I'd been away long enough already. I might not be able to cover every camp, but I would still do what I could.

" _I hate this."_

" _You did what you could, and what you had to."_ Shirou reassured, but he didn't sound any happier than I did.

" _I know. Doesn't change how I feel about it."_


	23. Chapter 21

**AN: Don't own shit. Read and Review, Follow and Favorite!**

* * *

"Legacy!"

"G'way, sleeping." I rolled away from the voice.

"Come on, Legacy. People are rioting. The Colonel wants you up and ready to respond."

Blinking the sleep from my eyes I rolled back toward the voice and sat up. A yawn ripped itself from my throat. "What?" I blindly grabbed for my helmet.

"It's the Merchant's." Glancing over I finally saw the speaker was a sergeant with the Guard. "Don't have many details yet, but there's been rioting all over the city. They're looting all over the place, and trashing what they don't want. The Colonel wants to reinforce the camp closest to the Merchant borders. If they head for the camps, they'll have to go through the ones farther out before they get here."

Groaning I pulled myself to my feet. "No sign of New Wave?" I wasn't hopeful. Lady Photon had made it painfully clear her family was in no shape to be fighting. Granted, I could _probably_ take all three Merchant capes at the same time, but I wasn't in a hurry to try, never mind a small army of rioting civilians.

"No, ma'am." The sergeant shook his head. "The Colonel requested you join my convoy to the most outlying camp. I know it's short notice but-"

"Let's go." I cut him off tossing my duffle bag over my shoulder. With a nod he started power walking and I fell in beside him. "Do we expect them to hit the camps? Any indication that their capes are with them, or at least some of Squealer's cars?"

The man nodded even as he pointed out a troop transport and hopped into the back. He offered me a hand and hauled me up before answering. The other soldiers already present paid careful attention.

"Reports on exactly what's going on out there are pretty vague. The Protectorate have clashed with a few groups, but they seem to scatter as soon as they face any real resistance. Worse they seem to be heading our way. Colonel thinks they're looking for a softer target."

" _Damn it."_

" _You are as prepared as you can be."_ Shirou was quick to reassure. _"Just remember that your job is to protect the civilians."_ He very pointedly didn't mention anything about the people we might soon be fighting.

At that point the convoy started to move and I leaned back against the canvas wall in the hopes of getting a little more sleep before we arrived.

{}{}{}{}{}

It was going on two AM when one of the soldiers shook my arm. I was up in a few seconds and surveying the work they'd managed to get done since telling me to get some rest. Barricades made from rubble and abandoned cars had been used to block off most of the street. If everything had gone according to plan the other roads leading to the camp had been entirely blocked off and were being watched by smaller groups. Ours was the largest picket group. Forty soldiers with assault rifles, two fifty cal machine guns mounted on jeeps, and me.

It didn't take me long to figure out why he had woken me either. The roar of engines was distant but growing louder. Worse I could see headlights coming our way.

"Can't fix what isn't broken." I muttered as I traced my bow and my latest success in modifying weapons into arrows. Six arrows later I started cursing.

"What?" The concerned looking corporal next to me asked.

"I killed the lead cars' engines." _"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"_ "Now the cars behind them are just pushing them forward like car sized shields."

The people around me started to curse as they lifted their weapons. They couldn't see it as well as I could but the two dead franken cars weren't even slowing down the convoy. With the lights in my eyes I couldn't make out enough to try shooting the drivers behind them and that was if I'd even have line of sight on them.

" _Time to stop playing nice, Taylor."_ Shirou made it sound so simple. And on some level, I suppose it was.

" _...Right."_ "Lieutenant, permission to switch to lethal force?" It was a formality. Everyone around me was almost completely limited to lethal force. We had some tear gas, but that was it. Still, I was here as an independent cape. Getting permission from the ranking officer was just a way to cover myself if anyone wanted to make noise about it after.

"Granted." Was the answer from somewhere to my right.

I reached inside for the Unlimited Blade Works. At that moment I had a flash of inspiration.

" _I am the foundry and forge."_ I found Caladbolg II in a heartbeat. Yes, that line was a much better fit.

" _Steel is my body, and fire is my soul."_ The blade formed over my outstretched hand.

" _I have inherited over a thousand blades."_ The sword warped, elongating into an arrow I'd only seen before in some of the memory dreams. In the back of my mind I could feel the connections to Shirou's reality marble grow stronger, more stable.

I drew back the arrow and sighted at the approaching cars. I could overload it and blast the entire group to pieces. Or I could simply let the drill arrow shred through everything in its path. I hesitated for a moment and chose. The brilliant line of blue light streaked down the road with a scream. A twirling corona of blue circled around the tip of the arrow.

A line of Merchant cars along the left side of the road were torn through. All of them were tossed by the force of the arrow. The lead car actually ended up on its roof. The cars lucky enough to not be hit peeled off, shooting down a couple of side streets. I was busy trying to dismiss the arrow before it could put a whole through every building between it and the ocean. Needed to remember to watch out for that.

"Holy shit, kid." I glanced over to see an entire line of wide eyed soldiers.

I grinned sheepishly. "Too much?"

The Lieutenant shook his head. "No, I just didn't realize I brought a human sized artillery unit with me." That set the soldiers to laughing. I was going to say something else when I realized that the sound of engines was still getting louder. I snapped around just in time to see one of the Merchant cars come shooting out of a side street not even a block away from us. It drifted for a moment before gunning the engine, and heading our way.

Wide eyed, and low on options and time, I decided to test out an idea I'd had months ago. "Trace on!" It was a wedge of steel; four feet tall, six wide, and two thick at every point… then I gave it velocity. The front of the modified garbage truck crumpled like a T-boned Prius. The rest of the Merchant vehicles shot out of the same side street. They very quickly turned around and scattered every which way. Some of the Guardsmen took potshots at the retreating cars, but they gave up pretty quickly. Glancing over my work it was painfully clear the people in the truck's cab hadn't been wearing seatbelts. I didn't get time to dwell on that though as the back of the garbage truck blew open and a wave of trash spilled out.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." I dismissed my bow. We were close enough that I'd rather have a different weapon in hand. There wasn't a lot of light right now though, so pinning Mush's shadow was a bit of a long shot. _"Shirou, do you have any swords that destroy filth in order to restore the purity of nature or something?_ "

" _What would be the point of an anti-pollution sword? Swords are meant for killing things. Not saving ducks from oil spills."_ My mentor snarked back.

I glared up at the fifteen foot trash giant. _"A simple no would suffice, thank you."_ I grit out.

"Mush!" I shouted getting the garbage golem's attention. "The rest of the Merchants retreated." I jumped past the makeshift barricade. All the soldiers were aiming up anyway, so I shouldn't have to worry about friendly fire. "Surrender!"

"Fuck you!" His bit said Mush punted the wrecked garbage truck at the soldiers to my left. I tuned out the shouting and gunfire to rush forward.

" _Going to need something big for this."_ I traced a claymore mid swing as I aimed above the golems right knee. The blade blew through the garbage golem with almost no resistance. It also did absolutely nothing as the limb simply reattached itself. "No, of course this couldn't be easy." I danced away from a kick and abandoned the claymore. When Mush tried to scoop it up, I dismissed the blade.

" _Perhaps something more aggressive?"_ Shirou suggested.

" _No back seat fighting."_ I snarked. Though I didn't really mean it. I wasn't about to turn away advice. Bullets certainly didn't seem to be doing much…

"Let's try this then." I dodged around a swipe from Mush's left arm and traced a half dozen claymore's and gave them velocity. The blades blurred forward and tore through Mush. it didn't faze him any more than the bullets were which was to say not at all. "Of course not." I growled and leapt back through the opening in the roadblock we had left open.

" _Right, normal weapons aren't doing shit. Time to break out the big guns."_ "Trace on." Gáe Dearg, the Crimson Rose of Exorcism formed in my hands, red light collecting and building and arcing until the beautiful cursed spear fully manifested. I settled into my stance, with a fierce grin on my lips. I flooded my body with mana reinforcing myself as much as I dared, I pushed forward between the golem's legs. Spinning on my heel I reset my stance on the other side of the cape in time to see its legs dissolve where I had swiped at them.

The forming grin turned into a scowl as the stupid thing once again reabsorbed the disconnected trash.

"Damn it!" I rushed in full tilt, dashing around the flailing cape, hacking at any bit that got in range. The Guard continued to pour bullets into its upper chest and head. It didn't matter. Mush could reestablish connections to whatever I severed. Trying to buy time I tossed the spear into its chest as I went looking for a better solution. Then I felt Shirou nudging my focus towards a certain weapon. I hesitated for a moment, but another insistent nudge was enough for me to capitulate. I didn't have any better ideas.

Mush floundered for a few moments until he managed to pluck out and toss Gáe Dearg aside. His body stabilized itself just as I finished preparing my next weapon. Gáe Bolg. I slid into a wide stance with the spear point aimed towards the ground. "Mush!" I shouted loud enough to be heard over the gunfire. The Guard stopped firing. Whether they were using this as a chance to reload, or were just thrown off by the lightshow my spear was starting to put on I had no idea. "Last chance, Mush. Surrender or die!"

The cape laughed and took one distance consuming step forward. I steeled myself and let my understanding of the spear's legend carry me away. "Gáe Bolg." With that utterance I pierced Mush's heart because I would strike. The blade was embedded in the golem's crotch of all places. For several heartbeats the battlefield was silent and still. Then a red trickle began to flow down the shaft of my spear. I pulled back, swiping the spear to the side cast a line of ruby droplets onto the concrete.

The golem collapsed on itself.

{}{}{}{} 10 AM

Nursing a cup of soup and hunk of bread I leaned into an out of the way corner. Normally I'd have offered to help out with making breakfast but I'd slept in today and was enjoying a bit of quiet away from the breakfast crowd. Or I was until a runner with Privates stripes waved me over to the tents entrance.

"Colonel wants to see you in the command tent, ma'am."

I downed the last of my soup setting the bowl down on the nearest table and followed along. I didn't need him to show me the way, but I wasn't going to be rude about it. And if he wanted to talk… well I still had a bit of bread handy if I needed an excuse to not answer.

Walking into the tent I was surprised to see Colonel Potter talking with Lady Photon, well, Sarah Pelham at any rate. She wasn't in costume.

"You wanted to see me, Colonel." I asked glancing between the tent's occupants. Mrs. Pelham seemed just as tired as when I paid her family a visit the other day. The Colonel on the other hand seemed to have a bit more spring in his step than the past few days.

"Legacy, good to see, can't thank you enough for supporting my men this morning. No telling how many would have gotten hurt without otherwise."

I shrugged it off. "Just doing what I can, sir."

"I was just wrapping up talks with Mrs. Pelham. New Wave will be moving into camp here and they've agreed to fly patrols between the camps at regular intervals."

That was… something at least. Hell, it was a lot better than what we had before which was nothing. Having a few capes stationed at every camp would be better, but considering they could fly we at least had access to fast responders. But if they were going to be based here…

"You wanted to see if I'd be willing to relocate to one of the other camps?" It was just a guess, but the facts lined up.

"Yesterday's attack proves their willingness to come after the camps." He confirmed. "Given how you handled things, a lot of people will sleep better knowing you're on hand." He shook his head. "I've also passed on the reports about what happened. Might finally be enough to get us some help from Director Piggot."

"Same camp I helped out last night?" The Colonel nodded and I shrugged back. "When does the next supply truck leave?"

"Noon."

"Then I'll grab my stuff and be ready to go when it does." With a clipped nod I headed off.

" _Taylor, are you alright."_

" _I'm fine, Shirou."_

" _You just seem, a bit tense."_

" _I'm fine, Shirou."_

" _Alright, but if you want to talk about something"_

 _"Leave it alone, Shirou."_ I cut him off as I went about double checking my duffle bag. I knew what he was doing. I wasn't getting dragged into that. I had things to do and places to be. Someone had mentioned problems with one of the auxiliary generators, and I'd promised to take a look since Shirou was a pretty good handyman. We only had a couple of hours to get that done before I needed to leave, so there was no point putting it off.

I just needed to keep moving.


	24. Chapter 22

**AN: I'd just like to recommend the videos** _ **Forks Over Knives**_ **, and** _ **What the Health.**_ **They outline how the standard American diet is** _ **killing us**_ **. It's not pretty, or pleasant. It's honestly horrifying how much effort goes into hiding it from us all. You have a right to know.**

 **That's a recommendation, and it's all I'll say on the matter. You're here for my story. So let's get on with the story. Don't own shit, read and review folks.**

* * *

The sound of an approaching chopper caught my attention along with the rest of the camp. There had been a few news choppers swinging by from nearby cities to get aerial footage of the devastation but those had stopped coming by after the third day. Military birds had only been seen a handful of times, so it was a curious camp that watched the sky. Oddest of all the sound seemed to be coming from the direction of the bay, not from outside of the city.

" _I swear if the Merchants cobbled together a helicopter, I'm going to shoot it down then go hunting for Squealer."_ I griped.

" _It would make them less of a threat."_

" _Say's the guy who wanted to stay around guarding the camps."_

" _That was before I realized how quickly she could manufacture armored cars."_ He protested.

" _Honestly, I think she's working overtime, and doing the bare minimum to make them bulletproof."_ I offered, _"She's never been this big of a threat before. Though it probably helps that she can just snag whatever's been left in the abandoned portions of the city."_

Finally, the chopper came into view and I relaxed at the very clear PRT logo on the side. Reactions were a bit split though. Some people grumbled; others cheered. They were help, and we could use all the help we could get. At the same time people knew they had left us here on our own until something had posed a real and credible threat to the camps. Soldiers talked, and people listened. They knew I'd made the difference the night before, and they didn't know what the Merchants might have done if they had gotten through.

I wanted to be pissed, but I was just too grateful for any backup we could get. Though if the only thing on those transports was a handful of troopers with foam sprayers, I'd have to see about wrapping a request for aid around an arrow and shooting it at the PRT's HQ.

The chopper settled down and the first person out the door had me breaking into a sprint.

"Hood!"

I hadn't been a big hugger for close to two years now, but right then I was tempted to make an exception. It had only been a week, but it was so good to see a familiar mask after everything. Still, I wasn't nearly that forward, and for all that things were weighing on me I wasn't that desperate for a hug. Dad should look out though. When I finally tracked him down, he was in for a hug that would crack his back, and maybe a rib or two.

"Arsenal!" Hood shouted as he jogged out from under the chopper blades, "Or should I call you, Legacy?"

I hesitated. It was a simple question, but it was also loaded with enough meaning to stop me short.

"Legacy," I finally answered speaking just loud enough to be heard over the slowing rotors, "at least for now."

"For now?" I shrugged helplessly in response.

"I just… There's a lot going on. I still don't know what happened to Dad, and the camps need me." I shook my head, "I can't give anyone an extra excuse to pull me out of here and leave them even more vulnerable."

Despite the top half of his face being covered, the grim look in his eyes and the downward turn of his lips said it all.

"How bad is it. We heard about Mush and the cars he came with."

I didn't look away. I wouldn't be ashamed of what I had done. I wouldn't run from it. And if anyone was going to understand it would be Jason.

"They didn't want to tell me how many they pulled out of the wrecks, but people talk. There were at least ten deaths." Jason closed his eyes and just took a moment to breath.

"I'm sorry." The words were simple and honest and that meant more to me than I wanted to admit.

"It had to be done."

"Even still. We were half a city away, and you had to deal with it on your own. Not our best showing as a team." My lips quirked up in an exasperated smile.

"You came here and punched Leviathan in the face without me." And damn it all that _hurt,_ "Let's just agree not to keep score."

"Heh," The chuckle was weak, but not forced, "If that's how you want it to be?" I simply nodded back.

"You must be, Legacy?" The boisterous voice belonged to the familiar red clad figure of Assault. Next to him, looking slightly exasperated, was Battery. "You know we had a hell of a time convincing Phantom and Flechette to stay behind? Director Piggot wasn't about to send Wards this way without Protectorate back up, and I was a bit worried we were going to have a shouting match when Hood pulled rank to get the one open spot."

"The rest of the team is here too?" I turned to Hood. Not that I actually had a problem with _these_ heroes, I just trusted Hood.

"Gigawatt's stuff was trashed. Legend held him back in New York, but Flechette and Phantom are here with me."

"Did they hear about…"

"Yeah," he nodded slowly, "there was no keeping that quiet, a lot of people are talking about it. They're worried about you, and I don't think they really _get it_ , but they don't think any less of you." A tension I hadn't even realized was building since the start of the conversation finally relaxed in me. Then I glanced at the other two heroes and had a whole new concern to think about.

"Do I need to be worried?" It was a very pertinent question given the circumstances. Especially with the Protectorate finally turning up only after I'd had to resort to lethal force. Mercifully Hood shook his head in the negative.

"No one with sense is making a fuss about it. Director's pissed that someone who can do what you can is running around outside of her control though. Especially when we told her we didn't know what most of your toys can actually do." There was a bit of a sly grin at the corners of his mouth as he mentioned that. I got the distinct impression I wouldn't like the woman. "No, when everything's finally settled, you're going to have problems. But nothing that makes me want to tell you to run."

There was a definite note of cheer in his voice now and I took a moment to lament the likely fallout when everything finally got sorted. Finally, I turned to face the two Protectorate heroes.

"Assault, Battery, a pleasure to meet you in person." I offered them both a handshake. "Dare I hope you three are being stationed in this part of the city for the duration, or is this temporary?"

"Temporary." Battery's answer was brisk, but not harsh. "The gangs are pressuring the downtown camps too much for us to stay away for long. The Director hopes showing the flag will remind the Merchants we aren't that far away, and help keep morale up."

I frowned at once again being shafted out here with half measures, but given I had no idea what their situation was actually like downtown I had a very hard time arguing against it. Never mind the fact that getting mad at these three was completely pointless since the decision wasn't their call.

"Sorry we aren't sticking around." Assault sounded much less energetic, "but hey, I heard New Wave were helping out now?"

I glanced around to make sure we wouldn't be overheard before responding. Luckily the crowds were keeping their distance.

"New Wave are based in the camp farthest from the Gangs." I spoke lowly, "They're flying patrols now but… After their losses their hearts aren't in it. It's mostly down to me and the National Guard."

Hood hissed out an angry breath between his teeth and the older duo shared a concerned glance.

"Why don't we find the Captain in charge here and you can fill us in." Assault said all joking gone from his voice. With a nod I waved for them to follow me to the command tent.

{}{}{}{}

"Can't believe Legend let you three came after me." I admitted as Hood and I walked the perimeter of the camp. I could easily imagine my teammates… my friends, wanting to come after me. But Legend letting them? Hood snorted.

"Please, after having one Ward go AWOL on him? Legend wasn't going to risk the rest of us vanishing too. He made us take another day off to decompress then he greenlighted the transfer and sent us to try and soft sell you back into line." He shrugged, "Not that it's at the top of anyone's priority list at the moment. Even Piggot's happier with you here where she can pretend you're just an overpowered independent instead of a massive PR bombshell she needs to deal with."

My grin might have been a touch anemic, but I appreciated the sentiment. Or at the very least the knowledge that my situation wasn't about to become even more complicated.

"I don't suppose any of you have seen my Dad, or heard word?" I wasn't ashamed to admit I was desperate for good news on that front.

"No," Hood shook his head. "I'm sorry, but we haven't heard anything one way or another."

I couldn't even get mad about it at this point so I settled for just walking in silence for a time.

"How are you holding up? No bullshit. No evasions. Just talk to me."

At first, I didn't really want to say anything. But I also really did. Shirou gave an insistent nudge. He had been trying to get me to talk on and off for a day now, and for all that I'd pushed it away between the two of them now…

"It had to be done. I was the only one who could do it." I answered honestly. "I don't regret it. I'm not having trouble sleeping, or eating, or even just getting on with my day… And that's… That makes me feel guilty." Hood didn't say a word, and Shirou remained a comforting, but silent, presence in my mind. "It was so _easy_. I knew the weapons I could make were deadly, and my oversized cow catcher trick was enough to stop a tank… But the spear was the worst." I admitted.

"It was the first of the really powerful weapons that I ever manifested. I told you about it, the day we met. I stabbed him in the heart, because I committed to the attack... He never stood a chance. I decided he was going to die and he died, period. It was pathetic, and overkill, and it was still the best option I had." I spit the last few words like curses.

"But I don't regret it. I don't feel guilty. They needed to be stopped, and I stopped them. I shouldn't be so calm about it, but I am. And I _know_ I wouldn't have been a few months ago." I turned to look Jason in the eye, "I'm mixing with a guy who lost count of the people he killed for the sake of countless others. And he wouldn't have backed away from what I did, and now I know I won't either." Out of words I settled for walking in silence.

Jason let out a long, ragged sigh before pulling me into a one armed side hug. I stiffened instantly.

"I'm sorry this whole situation is so fucked up, Legacy." I relaxed a bit into the awkward embrace. "You deserve better than to be stuck with responsibility for all these people. But the whole world is going to shit and we're stuck trying to keep it going because we're some of the very few willing to stand up and do something about it. Maybe the Protectorate and the PRT don't appreciate that like they should. But I'll tell you right now that _they_ do." He waved his free arm in the direction of the camp before letting go and stepping away.

"I wish things were better. I wish you didn't have to be ok with this shit. But the world needs people like us to hold it together." He gave me a very significant look, "And _we_ need people like your Dad, and Phantom, Flechette, Gigawatt, and even that mother hen Legend to keep us grounded. So whatever it takes... you keep yourself in one piece. And when all this is over we'll be there for you, alright?"

My eyes burned and my throat felt tight but I ignored that and gave him a firm nod.

"Sure thing, boss."


	25. Chapter 23

{}{}{}{} 2 AM

"Legacy." I rolled over trying to avoid the voice. "Come on, Legacy you need to get up." With a groan I rolled over to give the speaker my best death glare.

"If this isn't an emergency you are going to want to run."

"It's not an emergency," Dead man walking said, "but your father is on the sat phone."

I was up, helmet on and arm through one sleeve of my jacket in a couple of seconds and already sprinting for the command tent. The lieutenant on duty said something to me, but I missed it as I pulled the phone out of his hands and put it to my ear.

"Dad?"

" _Taylor!"_

Then I was babbling, and Dad was babbling, and I don't think either of us understood a word the other was saying, and it didn't matter at all. But finally, we stopped talking over one another and I managed to get the first word in.

"Dad, where are you? Where were you? I left a note on the kitchen table, and I grabbed what I could, and I've looked through all the camps around Captains hill. I wanted to check everywhere else, but I couldn't, they needed me Dad, and I'm sorry I couldn't find you, and that I wasn't here sooner, and-"

" _Taylor, breath!"_ Dad cut me off. _"Just take a few breaths, Taylor. Calm down. It's ok, I'm alright, and never apologize for that. The only thing that kept me sane in that shelter was knowing you were miles away."_

"It nearly drove me insane." I choked out as I collapsed into a chair the Lieutenant pulled out for me. "My team was gone to fight that thing, you were still here, and I was miles away in New York, useless, when I could have been blasting the son of a bitch from a mile away with weapons that break reality." I all but spat, finally letting some of the guilt spill out.

" _Taylor…"_

"I could have! I know it would be dangerous, and I don't know how well they would have worked, and hitting him would be hard when he could just duck down another street at his speeds. But I could have done something!" Dad just sighed sounding even more tired than I felt.

" _...Maybe you could have. And in the future maybe you will, but right now the more important question is what on earth are you doing in Brockton Bay?"_

"... I had to find you. You were missing and some of the shelters were wiped out, and no one knew if you made it or not. I had to find you... But Legend wouldn't approve my transfer, so I found a black trucker doing an aid run, and reminded him he was headed to the Nazi capitol of the east cost…"

Dad's amused snort lifted my mood more than anything else had in the past week.

" _Great minds think alike I suppose. It took me a few days to make sure as many of the dockworkers were ok and accounted for as I could. Then I spent a day finding out the PRT didn't really have time to talk with civilians about their secret Ward daughters who live in another city. Apparently, it's a fairly common scam for people trying to get rushed out of a disaster area."_

I clapped a hand over my visor and groaned. That was just so damn typical of my entire experience with the PRT.

" _By then the gangs had mostly taken over outside the camps. I didn't want to risk a trip to the house. It took me another day or so to bum a ride out of the city which fell apart when their car broke down. I managed to get into Boston tonight around eleven. Then it took them a few hours to verify everything with New York and finally track down a way to call you."_

I sagged even further into my chair and resolutely ignored the two wet tracks working their way down my face. Just knowing he was safe and out of danger made everything seem easier. There was some murmuring I couldn't make out from the other end of the line followed by what sounded like Dad telling someone to 'fuck off'. Though I couldn't be sure. I think he covered the mic with his hand first.

" _Taylor, I'm sorry, but the idiots are insisting I ask you to come back. Honestly, much as I want to tell them to shove it, I want to see you again too."_

"I… Dad, I can't. The Protectorate has abandoned Captains Hill; it's just me and the National Guard here. New Wave are supposed to be helping out too now, but they're barely doing anything except flying a few patrols a day, and the Merchants are pushing. I sent them packing last time, but if they come back, they're going to want revenge now too. I can't leave these people defenseless."

" _Taylor…"_ Dad sounded so lost in that moment I wanted to reassure him. To explain why it had to be me because no one else would do it…

And then the tents radio crackled to life.

" _Invisible vehicle just busted into camp three! Merchants poured out and made off with a lot of supplies, and a number of female civvies!"_ The radio announced. _"We have multiple wounded and several fatalities!"_

I closed my eyes, and breathed out.

"Dad, I have to go. I love you."

" _...I love you too, Taylor. Come back safe."_

"I will."

{}{}{}{}

The camp was a wreck, tents were flattened, there were numerous bloody puddles, and a fair few sheet covered bodies, Merchants, National Guard, and Civilians. At least three times as many injured as well. Glory Girl was scowling over the scene twenty feet of the ground and I'd heard mutters about Panacea tending to the wounded.

I ignored as much of that as I could heading resolutely for the command tent. This was the last straw, they needed to be dealt with.

Throwing aside the tent flap I found Mrs. Pelham nursing a cup of coffee off to one side as several officers from the National Guard, Police, and PRT argued with one another. I didn't acknowledge any of them, instead my focus lasered in on the map table spread out between them. The latest data on the gang territories was marked out and I immediately began pouring over the orange striped zone looking for what I was praying I might find. A large gathering place fit to hold everyone they might have sucked in. That would appeal to their general needs. Low and behold there was a shopping mall about a block from where I remembered a used car dealer and a couple of mechanic shops.

" _Bingo."_

"They're most likely here." I tapped the map. "Easy access to the kind of supplies Squealer needs, food, clothing, and a bunch of shiny crap for them to loot. Plus, enough space to fit a couple thousand anarchistic crack heads."

Conversation in the tent died as those gathered turned to look at me.

"We should probably get confirmation before we move, but it's the obvious choice and the Merchants aren't smart enough to think that might be a bad thing. I think I have an idea about neutralizing them, but this is going to take a bit of stealth and preparation... I'll need to check if my power will let me actually pull it off... but I think we can swing shutting them down."

"Legacy," The trooper spoke up first, "we don't have the manpower to take them all. We don't have the supplies, hell we don't even have the firepower."

"We have more than enough firepower. I could level the place on my own if I wasn't worried about killing their captives. I doubt even one in ten has a gun." I dismissed, "I can make barricades, force them to go where we want. Numbers don't mean shit if they have to come single file into a killing field."

"We can't just gun them down." Lady photon cut in harshly.

"We don't have to. They just have to see dozens of rifles aimed at them and be smart enough to get on their knees. If they're too stupid to stop… People are already dying. Let's just make sure it's only the criminals."

"The PRT won't-" the trooper started to speak up, and my patience snapped.

"Forget the PRT! We've got at least a dozen dead outside this tent!" I snapped an arm out towards the entrance, "They've stolen supplies they'd have been given freely if they just joined one of the camps, depriving people of food and water!" I smacked the table with my fist, "And worst of all they have abducted multiple women, including a young teen if the story I heard on my way here is true!" I blew out a harsh breath. "And we all know why they took them... If none of that is enough then I'd like to point out the PRT has left us on our own, and that makes this the National Guards jurisdiction."

I turned to face Colonel Potter.

"What is the military response to an attack by domestic terrorist raiders?"

And just like that everyone but the old Colonel froze. He didn't respond immediately, but he did give me a weighted stare as he contemplated his response

"Military regulations in regard to what action should be taken in such a situation are left extremely, and intentionally, loose. The reason being situations like this are never identical. The opposition, and support we can call on, is never a sure thing."

"You can't be considering-" Lady Photon tried to speak up only to be shouted down.

"My men are dead! People under my protection are dead, or worse, and it's all because a drugged up lunatic wants a live reenactment of some post apocalypse movie! Complete with tacky, overly armored cars, and screaming lunatics! The only thing missing from this set is a group of cultists, and it's only a matter of time until the Fallen decide to make a God damn pilgrimage!"

The Colonel swept a stern frown across everyone present.

"So, yes, I am considering any course of action that will make sure no more of my men get run over like _squirrels_."

The Colonel grunted as he studied the spot I'd indicated on the map.

"Lady Photon, if you could see to it that one of your family's fliers does a reconnaissance mission to discreetly confirm the Merchants presence? I need confirmation before we can act, and the faster we act the less the abductees will suffer."

She looked like she wanted to object, but only nodded before exiting the tent at a brisk pace. I had no doubt she would be back shortly.

The Colonel turned his gaze to the various LEO's in the tent.

"Gentlemen, given that this is likely going to require as much manpower and resources as we can bring to bear, I need up to date information on supplies, vehicles and personnel. Check in on any of your people who might have been injured and get back to me in fifteen minutes." The Police officer and a Guard lieutenant nodded and headed out of the tent immediately. The PRT trooper hesitated before moving off with a grimace.

"Legacy," The Colonel finally turned his attention on me. I found myself standing straighter without any conscious thought. "You mentioned needing to confirm something about your power. What exactly do you have in mind?"

"...My power lets me make more than just weapons. Weapons, especially bladed weapons, are just the easiest things to reproduce." A moment's concentration and I traced a scrap of cloth. "It takes more focus, and I can't reproduce most things without a chance to study them. But I'm hoping tear gas and confoam will be possible. But I've never tried making them before."

"You're planning to flood the building?"

"Confoam would take too long, but the gas? It might work. At the very least it would flush them out and soften them up."

"...Get going. Requisition whatever you need from whoever has it and find out if you can make this work. Then get back here. I'm putting in a call to the PRT when we've got all our ducks in a row and seeing if we can't shake some assistance out of them." The Colonel growled.

{}{}{}{}

The tinker tech radio for secure communications oddly enough had a speakerphone setting. I wasn't entirely sure why the Colonel decided to use it instead of speaking more confidentially. That being said I appreciated the transparency. With all the run around we'd been getting from the PRT I wanted to hear what they had to say. I'm sure I wasn't the only one either.

Blinking I reassessed the Colonel.

Maybe he knew that. Would that be enough to justify letting us all in on this conversation? With the way the rumor mill worked everyone would know what was said in a few hours at most. If we were really on our own out here? Knowing we didn't have any backup coming could be bad for morale… but it might serve to galvanize people as well.

" _In death ground fight."_ I thought to myself more than Shirou.

This wasn't death ground. Not by any means. This was the first real defeat the Merchants had handed us. If it weren't for Squealer, we could just tighten our defenses and gun them down as they threw themselves against us. If it weren't for the refugees, we could pull up the stakes and fall back outside of the city to a place we could centralize everyone. Then I could just blow her damn cars to bits until they ran out. But we were scattered stationary targets, and the Merchants armored cars were something only I and Glory Girl could easily deal with, maybe Shielder could pin one down but I doubted he could outright break them. Even if nothing changed, we could hold the line for a good long while. It would cost us, but we could do it.

But that was looking at it from a command perspective. For the average soldier? This had to be terrifying. The Merchants could blow through our defenses and unless Glory Girl or I was there with them they would be in a lot of trouble. So, if we weren't getting any support, it might very well feel like death ground to them. And if the soldiers felt it was us or them?

If I was right the Colonel was a much cannier individual than I'd realized.

" _Colonel Potter,"_ a man's voice crackled over the radio, _"I'm surprised to be hearing from you so late. Has there been some new development?"_

"I'm afraid so, Deputy Director Rennick. The Merchants finally got lucky. Or maybe they knew where our cape support was and decided to avoid them this time. They made off with a number of supplies and ten female civilians. I've got seven dead civilians, six dead merchants, and five of my men were KIA. Three of them are going to need closed casket services. The only reason it wasn't worse is Panacea's prompt response."

" _... I'm sorry for your losses Colonel."_

Colonel Potter grunted.

"I'm not calling you for condolences. I'm calling to demand whatever support your people can scrape up on short notice for a push to shut down this threat and rescue their victims."

" _Colonel?"_

"We have their location, we have the beginnings of a plan, and we can't afford to let them have their way any longer. All I need is to know what resources you can contribute to the effort."

" _... Sir, I don't… even our most conservative estimates place their swell in membership to be at least a thousand people. We don't have evidence to convict or hold them. Just association wouldn't be enough to-"_

"Deputy Director Rennick," Colonel Potter barked, "I don't believe you understand the severity of the situation. The Merchants have launched several attacks on the United States Military and those under our protection. Until now we have successfully repelled those attacks and so have been content to maintain the current situation. That is no longer the case. I will not sit back and suffer attacks by terrorists simply because sorting out who is guilty of what will take time after things in what's left of this city have finally settled!"

" _Sir you are suggesting an all out attack. An escalation like that could incite the remaining gangs to stop holding back all together. And that's assuming the Merchants don't escape and retaliate in force."_

"In case it has escaped your notice, the Gangs have already escalated. They are willing to gun down my men, and aid trucks. They're rioting across the whole of the city. The only thing clinging to this stance shows is that you aren't willing to rise to the occasion!"

" _... I'm sorry, Colonel. I have my orders, and they are to hold the city together as best as I can without causing the whole mess to boil over."_

The Colonel silently glared at the speaker for a time, along with a number of others in the tent.

"Fine then. If the PRT is unwilling, or unable, to act in the defense of citizens of the United States, then as the ranking member of the military present I am deeming this the jurisdiction of the National Guard and will act accordingly."

The Colonel hung up without giving Deputy Director Rennick a chance to respond. The tent remained silent for a moment before the Colonel turned to face the rest of us looking us each over in turn.

"All right people. We're on our own for this one, that's the bad news. The good news is we handle this our way. Now, we know where they are, we know what resources we have to call on, and we've got the start of a plan. It needs some polish though. Let's get to work.

{}{}{}{}

" _We found a workshop."_ The voice of a soldier who's name I hadn't caught crackled over the radio. _"The Mechanic shop, just like we expected. Only three guards. They surrendered pretty damn quick too. We're just placing the thermite charges on the engine blocks now."_

" _When we get through this, Corporal, I'm tossing your behind back to basic so you can learn military communications properly."_ Colonel Potter grumbled. _"Legacy, are you in position yet?"_

As the Colonel asked, I sidled up to an unattended side door and gently tested the lock. A grin split my face as the door slid easily open.

"Just entering now, Colonel." I whispered before slipping inside.

The room I'd entered was the mall's loading dock. It was sparsely lit by a few fluorescent lights and just like I had hoped it housed three of Squealer's monstrosities. Including a modified school bus that matched descriptions of the cloaked car that the Merchants had used in their raid.

"Got eyes on their getaway vehicle. Give me a few minutes." I had to speak up slightly to be sure he could hear me over the slightly muffled rave music blasting from farther inside the building.

Slipping through the ad hoc garage and tinker lab I was relieved to see it unguarded. I was also fairly furious that the missing woman were nowhere to be seen. I buried that though. We would rescue them soon. Rushing in and getting myself killed wouldn't do them any good. Of course, I could just rip through the gang until the only people left were the ones not fighting, but in that kind of chaos… I was mostly certain I could reinforce myself and my costume enough to shrug off small arms fire, mostly. I wasn't in a hurry to put that theory to the test. Even if I could though it would essentially mean maiming or killing an entire mob. Military operation or not, that wouldn't go over well, and there would be too many opportunities for them to take hostages or hit the victims in the confusion. Hell, I might pick the wrong target in that kind of chaos.

This was the best we had been able to cobble together on short notice. It didn't feel like enough. Even knowing we were stopping a massive gang. Even knowing it would make so many people safer after this. I knew what the victims must be going through. How could anything be enough?

I pushed the thoughts away and moved to the set of double doors which separated the garage from the rest of the mall. They were big simple things meant to swing open and let pallet jacks move through easily, cheap and flimsy too. And to properly funnel people I needed to barricade them so nothing got through. I traced a four inch thick steel plate in front of them. Then I buried a few claymores into the floor behind it to properly brace the slab of metal up in front of the door. Escape route blocked, I turned back to the tinker vehicles. I hesitated as I considered how best to deal with them. I could kill them easily enough with my bow and arrow… assuming no one had been alerted to my presence when I drove the claymores into the floor the extra noise might or might not matter… But this was also a chance to test out another idea I'd had. It wasn't something I ever really wanted to use, not on a person… but for a few empty cars?

Shirou had made swords into deadly ranged attacks by altering one attribute when he traced them. Namely their velocity. What if I tweaked something else instead?

Standing next to the driver's door I started tracing swords inside the armored monstrosity then I just raised the temperature of the blades until molten steel dripped loose and slowly began to fill the interior. The heat was unbelievable, and the smell of burning upholstery would have likely been unbearable if not for the borrowed gas mask which had replaced my helmet.

" _Taylor, sometimes you scare me."_ Shirou's comment surprised a genuine laugh from me.

" _Creativity is as much a weapon as anything else I suppose. Though to be honest I'm not sure what could ever make a trick this nasty the best option."_

Before the conversation could progress any further, I had to jump back as the molten metal melted through the floor of the car and pooled towards me. Apparently, Squealer had skimped out on armoring the underside.

"Well… That worked." I tapped on my comm. "Colonel, the door is blocked. Give me another minute and I'll be finished disabling the cars before moving on."

" _Double time it, Legacy. They don't know what's coming yet, but I don't want to bet on luck."_ The Colonel's voice crackled in my ear.

"Yes, sir."

{}{}{}{}

The roof of the mall was mostly gravel, but there were also a lot of skylights and that was what was going to make this possible. I wasn't crazy about raining glass down on whoever might be in there, given we had no idea where the hostages might be. I just didn't have the time or options to be picky about this though.

"I'm in position, Colonel. Just say the word."

" _We're just getting the last of the barricades into place now. Standby."_

The mall originally had six entrances not counting the loading dock. The plan was to block off three of them and turn the rest into kill zones. If the Merchants had an ounce of sense they would surrender. If not? Well they weren't trained fighters. With any luck seeing a few of their own go down would be enough to get the message across. The Colonel had distributed capes and Mounted 50cals at each exit just in case. I Just had to flush them out before hunting the stragglers.

" _Legacy, go."_

"Moving.".

I smashed the first skylights with a few launched weapons. I took a bare moment to properly focus on getting the next bit exactly right. A number of tear gas canisters flew through the new opening, falling into the crowds below. Even over the booming rave music I could clearly hear the shrieks and screams. I took off at a full sprint for the next skylight.

{}{}{}{}

I prowled through the mall as cautiously as I could, riot shield in one hand and Tora-shinai in the other. The gas mask limited my range of vision and the shifting clouds of white gas obscured everything. There were a number of people passed out here and there. Whenever I found someone, I cuffed them then traced a gas mask over their face. Just to help them breath until the gas cleared, or enough people could be spared to help move them.

Considering the risks of long term exposure, I should be rushing to get them out, but that would mean leaving others for even longer. Some of these people seemed to have passed out beforehand, drunk or drugged, in unoccupied corners. Others seemed to have gotten knocked down and trampled in the chaos. I'd seen at least one dead man already.

" _Legacy we've got the capes. Shielder and Laserdream tag teamed them when they tried to make a break for it through the crowds. And just about everyone else was too busy trying to breath to put up a real fight. How do things look on your end?"_

"Mostly clear. I'm finding people in all kinds of out of the way corners. More than a few injured and at least one dead. I'll keep working, but I could use some help once you can spare it."

" _As soon as I can, Legacy."_ The Colonel responded, _"But it's going to be a long night for all of us."_

"Yes, sir."

I wanted to be thrilled. To be happy. I wasn't. This was a clear win; we had stopped the Merchants cold with this raid.

But I was directly responsible for who knows how much lung damage and at least one person getting trampled to death. We were lucky no one triggered in the middle of this. I blew out a breath, and tried to shake off my melancholy. I'd done the best I could. We all had. There just wasn't a clean or pretty way to deal with so many people.

{}{}{}{} Noon

New Wave had invited me to eat with them after everything was finally over and I'd accepted. Conversation had been limited. We were all just too tired. I had my head pillowed on my arms leant over the table. Before I put my own head down, I'd seen Amy passed out leaning against her sister, and Crystal's head had been repeatedly dipping only to snap back up. We were all just too worn out.

"Colonel," Mrs. Pelham said, "care to join us?"

I turned my head and cracked one eye open enough to see the approaching officer. He looked just as worn out as the rest of us, but didn't seem willing to give in to that like myself and the younger members of New Wave. Were adults just better at dealing with lack of sleep or was it a military thing? I let the thought slip away as I saw just how serious the Colonel's expression was. The man nodded and sat at the end of the table the only thing in his hands was a cup of coffee.

"I wanted to thank all of you for your work last night. Without your help we never could have pulled that off." Colonel Potter said.

There was a chorus of polite responses to that some of which were more mumbled than others and I forced myself to sit up straight and give the man my as much attention as my exhaustion would allow.

"I wish I was here with good news, but I just got off the radio with the PRT."

Mrs. Pelham frowned. "They can't be that upset by what we did last night. There were injuries and fatalities, but for such a major action…" She trailed off as the Colonel shook his head.

"Director Piggot was more than a little sour with me for acting, and for pulling this off without her organization's help." The Colonel admitted with a shrug. "But she doesn't get a say in that. No, this is unrelated news. They finally got the results back on the drinking water. Or I should say the latest results. They've been testing it regularly in the hopes they were wrong, but there's no denying it anymore. Leviathan's attack contaminated the drinking water. It's all brackish now, and they aren't sure what if anything can be done to repair the damage."

The Colonel gave us all a moment to digest that.

"Without a source of clean drinking water, the city is being declared unsalvageable. We'll begin evacuating the city tomorrow. Starting with our camps here, and then moving on to the downtown camps."


End file.
